California Climate & Energy Collaborative

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Priority Area: Climate Action
Barrier: Planning Capacity

Challenge/Local/State

Description

Local Solution
(Type of Activity: Policy/Planning/Land Use )

Regional climate hubs, shared staffing models, and COG/REN-led technical assistance networks that pool expertise, standardize methods, align state–local requirements, and provide sustained planning and implementation support for under-resourced jurisdictions.

Existing Examples of Progress: 1. Past support from SANDAG in preparing GHG inventories was cited as reducing burdens on local staff. Loss of this support has worsened planning capacity issues. 2. AMBAG provided an example wherein regional staff can provide technical expertise to cities. 3. San Mateo County’s RICAPS (Regionally Integrated Climate Action Planning Support) is an effective example of regionalized CAP alignment and technical assistance. RICAPs provides regional CAP templates, standardized methodologies, shared communication materials and collaborative structures for cities. 4. Regional Climate Action Plan (funded by the EPA) in Santa Clara and San Benito Counties demonstrates an emerging model of cross-county CAP alignment that local governments can plug into. 5. Plan Bay Area 2050+ is an integrated regional plan under SB 375 that includes unified strategies for housing, transportation, the economy, and the environment. Aligning local CAPs with these cross-sector strategies can ensure consistency across local jurisdictions. 6. Regional collaborations: Some areas have created joint climate staff or shared services models so that small jurisdictions can pool resources to support CAP development and grant writing. 7. Regional technical assist model you can piggyback on: The REN-led “Energized Communities” program is built precisely because cities “don’t have staff bandwidth to do any of the work.” Use its scaffolding for CAP/inventory tasks (not just project delivery).
Region: San Francisco Bay Area, Central Coast, Los Angeles, Inland Deserts, San Diego, Statewide

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