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 In 2007, PCLF launched the Local Climate Action Initiative to help local communities across California adopt and better enforce policies that cut the carbon footprint of new development in their region. Through workshops, consultation, and distribution of our Local Climate Action Toolkit, we provide grassroots leaders the tools they need to begin shaping their communities for a lower-carbon future.
For example, in the San Francisco Bay Area we worked with the Greenbelt Alliance and the Sierra Club’s Cool Cities campaign to provide a policy training to 50 regional activists. We described new legal developments that are resulting in better treatment of global warming in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), shared success stories of community groups that helped ensure that their general plan addresses global warming, and provided campaign strategy techniques for putting climate action on the local development agenda. After the workshop, participants met with their elected officials to begin using their new tools.
We are currently expanding our trainings to address SB 375 (Steinberg), California’s new law that aims to link global warming considerations with land use with transportation decisions.
Through the Initiative, we’re building an informed and engaged constituency to advocate for bold public policy solutions to the global warming crisis, reshaping the way land use and transportation decisions are made at the local, state, and federal level.
We are also supporting the California Resources Agency, the California Department of Fish and Game, and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research to develop policies that help California respond appropriately to the effects of global warming. In 2009, the Resources Agency will release a statewide Climate Adaptation Strategy, identifying actions that should be taken across a broad range of sectors to prepare for and respond to changing environmental conditions. The Department of Fish and Game is developing strategies for the Adaptation Strategy and plans to update its state Wildlife Action Plan to more fully incorporate global warming. The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research is developing new guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) regarding greenhouse gases. By developing effective policy solutions and building a strong coalition, we are strengthening these plans and laying the groundwork for greater governmental action in the years ahead.
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