As a part of the Climate Action Plan Update (CAP Update), the County is holding a series of virtual public workshops throughout the summer to present project updates and solicit feedback.

In June, the County facilitated three virtual workshops that presented vision statements and conceptual measures for the solid waste, water and wastewater, and energy emissions reduction sectors.

The meetings were organized to accomplish the following:

• Create a comfortable, engaging environment where all participants have an opportunity to provide meaningful input and share concerns.
• Obtain input to help develop the CAP Update greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction measures and the vision statement for each sector.
• Explore opportunities and challenges related to GHG reduction measures that may be considered for the CAP Update.
• Provide an overview of the CAP Update in a clear and easy to understand manner, including the purpose, process, outcomes, timeline, and future opportunities to provide input.  

At the virtual meetings, community members participated in a staff-led presentation and polling questions. Each workshop covered three topics: 1) Emission sources evaluated under each sector; 2) Draft equitable, net-zero vision statement for the sector; and 3) Strategies and measures to reach the draft vision. Throughout the workshops, community members were invited to share their perspectives through the chat, polls, and open discussion. Each workshop and prompts were designed so that staff could learn more about community members’ perspectives about climate change and potential actions to reduce GHGs. An interpreter was in attendance for community members whose primary language is Spanish, and meeting materials were offered in Spanish. In advance of each meeting, staff promoted the event through e-blasts, social media posts, and direct emails to relevant and interested stakeholders. Participants in each workshop represented environmental, economic, and community organizations as well as individuals from the public.

You can find a quick summary of what we learned during these workshops below where we have listed major themes from the input we received in no particular order of importance or frequency.

You can also find recordings and additional information from all of our previous CAP Update workshops here.

Solid Waste Emissions Reduction Measures Workshop - June 1

Twenty-one participants joined this workshop and provided input that included:

• Economic development and job creation is of interest to participants.
• Stakeholders raised equity as an important issue throughout the workshop and one participant noted that equity is what brought them to the workshop. Participants shared that increasing access to waste and recycling facilities, clean air, food, and energy would help promote equity.
• Waste to energy was of interest for some participants who suggested it as an opportunity to turn solid waste into renewable natural gas.
• Creating a circular economy was mentioned, and one participant suggested implementing glass take-backs at grocery stores.
• Educating the community about ways to reduce waste and increase recycling, composting, and material reuse was an important topic for participants. One stakeholder suggested partnering with organizations to help repurpose waste.

Water and Wastewater Emissions Reduction Measures Workshop - June 15

Nineteen participants joined this workshop and provided input that included:

• Financial incentives for water-efficient appliances and turf replacement, prioritized among multi-family and low-income residents, were popular among participants.
• Ensuring plumbers arrive in a timely manner and certifying they will fix leaks efficiently was offered as a way to reduce water use.
• Stakeholders stated that increasing recycled water availability in the backcountry, sourcing recycled water from new sources, encouraging native plant landscaping, and providing free rain barrels would help irrigate outside areas.
• Stakeholders were generally concerned about drought conditions in the state and region, and what the County is doing to ensure water availability in the long-term.

Energy Emissions Reduction Measures Workshop - June 28

Twenty-three participants joined this workshop and provided input that included:

• Electrification across all sectors (transportation, buildings, agriculture, etc.) was a popular solution stakeholders mentioned to reduce GHG emissions.
• Incentives for electric appliance replacements were noted as a way to decrease energy use.
• Participants noted that increasing renewable energy, both on the regional and personal/residential scale, would help reduce GHGs from energy use.
• Enacting any measures in an equitable manner was stressed as an important component of this sector.
• Discussion of the difference between energy use and energy efficiency came up, with one stakeholder noting that an efficient appliance delivers the same result with less energy.