On September 11, 2024, the County Board of Supervisors adopted the 2024 Climate Action Plan (2024 CAP), a blueprint for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the unincorporated area and at County facilities to reach net zero emissions by 2045. The 2024 CAP will be carried out by nine County departments through a range of programs, policies, and incentives.

During development of the 2024 CAP, staff gathered input and feedback through 21 public workshops with 700+ participants and over 230 meetings. Regular engagement occurred through the CAP website, e-newsletter, and social media. Since the plan’s public release in October 2023, the County's engagement portal received 2,000+ visits. Staff also hosted in-person office hours and participated in community events to raise awareness of the released documents.

The 2024 CAP prioritizes climate actions in frontline communities that experience the most immediate and worst impacts of climate change such as low-income communities. Through its implementation, the 2024 CAP will strive to achieve equity-based outcomes and community co-benefits throughout the unincorporated area. This includes things like improved community health including cleaner air and water, increasing sidewalks and bike lanes, promotion of a green economy, and improved neighborhood resilience, among other benefits.

The 2024 CAP establishes 21 measures and 70 actions the County will take to achieve 2030 and 2045 GHG reduction targets. These actions reduce GHG emissions from five emissions reduction sectors: Built Environment and Transportation; Energy; Solid Waste; Water and Wastewater; and Agriculture and Conservation. CAP measures include supporting actions that collectively work towards reaching net zero emissions. The CAP measures consist of various approaches, such as securing open space and agricultural land, minimizing single-occupancy vehicle trips, promoting solar panel installations in unincorporated residential areas, diverting waste through food donation initiatives, decreasing treated water usage for landscaping in new residential developments and County facilities, and increasing tree planting on residential and County land to enhance carbon sequestration in the soil.

In addition to adopting the 2024 CAP, the Board directed staff to integrate the Fire Safe and Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Efficient smart growth alternative from the CAP Update’s Supplemental Environmental Impact Report into existing, ongoing planning efforts within Planning & Development Services, such as the Sustainable Land Use Framework. The Fire Safe and VMT Efficient alternative identifies smart growth geography in the unincorporated area that are VMT efficient and outside high or very high fire risk areas. Potential outcomes include reducing VMT by focusing growth away from rural areas and closer to existing and planned job centers and public facilities.

To further emphasize equity, the Board also directed staff to convene the County’s Environmental Justice (EJ) Workgroup quarterly to advise staff on the implementation of the 2024 CAP. The EJ Workgroup will advise on:

• Creating and adopting climate equity indicators
• Establishing a benchmark of at least 20% of CAP investments in underserved communities through the County budget process
• Providing input to County departments on expenditures and deliverables for CAP implementation
• Monitoring the progress of CAP measures
• Participating in regional resiliency policy discussions
• Supporting regional collaboration and coordination with other jurisdictions

If you would like to participate on the EJ Workgroup, applications to become a member are open until November 11, 2024.

Staff will continue to conduct public outreach and coordinate with the respective County departments to advance CAP 2024 implementation efforts. Future updates will be posted on the CAP website.