State/Local Energy & Climate Coordination
(SLECC) Meetings
Purpose
The State/Local Energy & Climate Coordination (SLECC) Meetings serve as a statewide communication and ideation hub to help State and local leaders improve coordinated efforts to more rapidly unlock the unique potential of California regions and communities to address energy and climate goals.
CCEC will convene SLECC meetings in partnership with the Strategic Growth Council, the California Energy Commission, and the California Air Resources Board. Together, these entities will be known as the Steering Partners, and will help drive the direction of the SLECC through steering meetings as necessary.
SLECC Meetings will identify priority needs and co-create operational solutions to advance place-based energy and climate action. These convenings will primarily focus on clean energy and climate mitigation issues (including in buildings, transportation, and land use), but will also address aligned issues including energy and climate resilience, workforce and economic development, housing, health, and equity. SLECC Meetings are currently exclusive to staff or representatives of State agencies and local governments.
Additional information on these convenings can be found in the Draft SLECC Meeting Charter. This document will continue to be updated on an iterative basis in collaboration with participants as goals of the group are solidified.
What We Do
SLECC Meetings seek to support several active policies or initiatives that encourage State agencies to engage in greater coordination with local and regional agencies such as, but not limited to:
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- Strategic Growth Council’s Council Priority 3 Resolution on Housing, Climate and Equity, which aims to leverage existing State efforts at the housing-climate nexus through improved interagency alignment and coordination with local and regional partners. Central to this work is understanding how local and regional implementers perceive and experience State policies and programs, which can then inform State actions to improve access to resources and reduce burdens on local and regional agencies.
- California Energy Commission’s 2022 Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR) includes a key recommendation to continue a regional approach and work more consistently with local governments in future IEPR proceedings and other major efforts. The IEPR asserts “that engagement should include partnering closely with local leaders to codesign outreach, engagement, and other efforts. The CEC should involve peer agencies to conduct more robust joint engagement that lessens burdens on tribes and communities. The CEC should connect with local government entities and associations to develop a deeper relationship that enables consistent communication and interaction to ensure state policies are developed to improve local impact.”
- The California Air Resources Board engages with local governments on developing and executing its Scoping Plan, including Appendix D on Local Actions, to assist in developing local climate plans, measures, policies, and actions aligned with the State’s climate goals. The scoping plan prioritizes climate action in three priority areas: Vehicle electrification, vehicle miles traveled reduction, and building decarbonization.
If you are a State or local government representative interested in participating in SLECC Meetings, or have an idea for other potential topics of discussion for future SLECC Meetings, please reach out to John Vandervort (jvandervort@civicwell.org).
The Story So Far
This 4th State/ Local Energy and Climate Coordination (SLECC) Meeting featured a discussion with the Strategic Growth Council on improving funding and reducing application burden, which will help inform their upcoming Priority 3 Work Plan progress update in April. We know how much capacity local governments are pouring into trying to access funding. We also know they have been asked about improving funding programs a hundred times in recent years, so we did not start this conversation from scratch.
At this meeting, attendees had a chance to build upon and prioritize both the practical and bold ideas we’ve been compiling based on years of engaging with you, and help us get them on the record with the State.
View the Presentation Slides here.
On December 14th, the SLECC meeting series featured a listening session with the California Air Resources Board on the topic of Co-Creating Solutions to Barriers to Local Climate Action.
This session featured a panel discussion on the essential elements in a solution for local GHG inventories with Andy Mutziger from SLO County APCD, Brian Schuster from Environmental Science Associates, and Michael Boswell from California Polytechnic State University.
View the Presentation Slides here.
On October 26, SLECC held a joint meeting with Strategic Growth Council in San Diego on the discussion of From “What” to “How”: Advancing Housing, Climate, and Equity Goals through State-Local Coordination.
Strategies, funding opportunities, and meaningful breakout discussions were shared and held among state and local government partners.
View the Presentation Slides here.
The second SLECC meeting saw sixty (60) local government representatives attend to identify the barriers and solutions to energy reliability, load constraints, and constituent communications. This discussion featured presentations from representatives of The Strategic Growth Council, The California Energy Commission, CAISO, The City of Berkeley, and the Local Government Sustainable Energy Coalition.
Presentation slides from this presentation can be found here.
Eighty (80) local government representatives attended an initial State and Local Coordination meeting co-hosted by CCEC and the Local Government Sustainable Energy Coalition (LGSEC). The meeting occurred the morning before the 14th Annual CCEC Forum. It was facilitated by Angie Hacker, CCEC Statewide Best Practices Coordinator in partnership with leadership from Forum sponsors California Energy Commission (CEC) and California Air Resources Board (CARB), as well as Strategic Growth Council (SGC).
Presentation slides from this meeting can be found here.
Notes from this initial meeting can be found here.