Abstract
In 2016, the State of California passed Senate Bill 32, which set a greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal for the state of 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. As part of the California Global Warming Solutions Act, a scoping plan meant to outline how the state will reach its 2020 and 2030 greenhouse gas reduction goals, the state calls on local governments to create their own individualized climate action plans to help reduce greenhouse gases. Despite this, little guidance exists for counties to base their climate action plans on and leads to the question: What are promising practices in climate action planning at the local level? In an effort to answer this question and provide my employer, Yolo County, with useful examples of climate action planning in similar California counties, I conducted website research, a literature review, and interviewed the person in charge of climate action planning at Humboldt, Merced, Santa Cruz and Solano counties. Each of these counties had a similar attribute to Yolo County, including an established university, political leaning, and/or similar population. From my interviews, I learned that each of these four California counties is doing something different to implement the sustainable actions in their climate action plan. While each county had to work with the costs and politics associated with implementing climate change policy, most counties expressed two main points: that they have a lack funding to support employees and programs for climate action measures, and that it is important for the each county’s board of supervisors to support taking action. For these reasons, I conclude that counties should continue learning from each other with regard to ideas for actions and strategies that they can implement, while making sure that their next steps cater to the needs of their population and circumstances. Additionally, I argue that stepped up state financial and political support would allow counties to move forward with their climate action plans and help meet the state’s greenhouse gas reduction targets.