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Other Climate Protection Efforts
Learn about regional agencies in the Bay Area and state agencies in California that are addressing the challenges posed by climate change.
Regional Climate Change Efforts
Other regional agencies in the Bay Area are also addressing the climate change challenge. Notable efforts include:
Plan Bay Area 2040 is an integrated transportation and land-use/housing strategy for the San Francisco Bay Area through 2040. This long-range plan accommodates future population growth and reduces GHG emissions from cars and light trucks. It is developed by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Association of Bay Area Governments. The Draft Plan is currently available, with adoption scheduled for late summer 2017.
The Adapting to Rising Tides Program is a collaborative planning effort to increase the Bay Area’s preparedness and resilience to sea level rise and storm events while protecting critical ecosystem and community services. It is a program of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission.
The Resilient by Design Challenge is a proactive response to the increasing threat of climate change, bringing interdisciplinary design teams together with communities to identify solutions to vulnerable locations in the Bay Area. In this year-long challenge, teams of engineers, architects, designers, and other experts will work alongside community members to identify critical areas throughout the Bay Area and propose innovative, community-based solutions to strengthen our region’s resilience to the impacts of climate change.
BayREN implements effective energy-saving programs on a regional level. It draws on the expertise, experience, and proven track record of Bay Area local governments. It is a collaboration of the nine Bay Area counties led by the Association of Bay Area Governments.
State Climate Change Efforts
The state of California has taken significant action to address climate change and curb the emissions of GHGs. The passage of AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, set in place the first program in the country to take a comprehensive, long-term approach to addressing climate change. It does this in a way that aims to improve the environment and natural resources while maintaining a robust economy.
More recently, the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act (SB 350), signed into law in 2015, and SB 32 (2016), which establishes a GHG reduction target for 2030, are considered the most significant climate and clean energy legislation since the passage of AB 32. SB 350 increases California’s renewable electricity procurement goal from 33 percent by 2020 to 50 percent by 2030 and requires a doubling of statewide energy-efficiency savings in electricity and natural gas end uses by 2030. SB 32 requires the state to reduce GHG emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.
The California Air Resources Board is leading state agencies in the development of a 2017 Climate Change Scoping Plan Update that will serve as the blueprint for achieving the goals embodied in the legislation mentioned above. CARB also adopted and is implementing a comprehensive Short-Lived Climate Pollutant (SLCP) Reduction Strategy designed to reduce emissions of powerful “super-GHGs” like methane and black carbon.
Last Updated: 4/20/2017