Representation and Inclusion - California Climate and Energy Collaborative

Barrier 1: Representation & Inclusion

Barrier Statement

Systemic inequities and power dynamics—such as privileging academic credentials over lived experience, relying on the same few individuals, or pursuing symbolic rather than genuine participation—undermine authentic, diverse, and trusted community involvement in decision-making.

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How communities are experiencing this barrier

View the details on what communities have shared with SLECC from across the state.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Inland Deserts, Statewide

Structural exclusion and capacity-driven participation inequities. Despite broad recognition of the need for inclusive climate action, engagement and decision-making processes continue to rely on the same well-resourced jurisdictions, organizations, and individuals with the capacity to participate. Structural barriers, including limited funding, staff time, childcare, transportation, digital access, and fragmented engagement pathways, systematically exclude marginalized communities, Tribes, and smaller local governments. One-way, consultant-driven engagement creates community fatigue, erodes trust, and undermines the effectiveness and legitimacy of state-led climate and energy programs.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, Statewide

The absence of shared standards for equitable engagement leads to inaccessible, inconsistent, and culturally mismatched outreach that excludes non-expert and non-English-speaking communities.

Key challenge discussed in - Los Angeles, Statewide

Decision-making is often controlled by entrenched actors, with community participation limited to symbolic or token roles that lack real influence.

Key challenge discussed in - Los Angeles, Statewide

Gatekeeping of expertise: Community knowledge is often dismissed because it lacks academic or professional credentials. Agencies privilege voices with “letters behind their names,” leading to distrust and discouragement among grassroots experts

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area

Tribal Underrepresentation and Misaligned Engagement Pathways. Tribal governments are frequently treated like nonprofits rather than sovereign nations, limiting their influence in climate, land-use, and adaptation decisions. A lack of direct funding, culturally appropriate engagement approaches, and government-to-government relationship structures prevents meaningful Tribal participation and restricts access to ancestral lands and decision-making spaces.

Local Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by local leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

Local Solution

Build sustained, community-centered engagement beyond project cycles. Local and regional agencies should move from one-off, grant-driven outreach to long-term partnerships with CBO networks and ongoing community advisory bodies. These structures enable continuous involvement, reduce engagement fatigue, and ensure underrepresented communities have lasting influence over climate and energy decisions.

Existing Examples of Progress:

1. Community advisory boards can be used as a structure to allow continuous engagement outside of grant cycles. 2. Fifth Climate Change Assessment – Inland Deserts Region: A model for participatory engagement that combines scientific research with locally led advisory groups and storytelling events to center lived experience.

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Inland Deserts, San Diego, Statewide

Local Solution

Center grassroots leadership and lived expertise through shared decision-making. Local agencies should include grassroots leaders, CBOs, and Tribal partners in co-designing plans, projects, and outreach—treating lived experience as equal to technical expertise. This approach strengthens trust, relevance, and community ownership while improving participation and implementation.

Existing Examples of Progress:

In the Bay Area a city–CBO partnership co-designed a tree-planting and urban canopy program in which community organizers served as project champions.

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Inland Deserts, Statewide

Local Solution

Use clear, culturally rooted, and multilingual communication tailored to community context. Local agencies should deliver outreach and facilitation in residents’ preferred languages and cultural formats, using plain, relatable messaging rather than technical jargon. Effective engagement goes beyond basic translation to ensure relevance, accessibility, and trust, while maintaining open, multilingual communication channels that connect communities to programs and elevate community priorities in planning and decision-making.

Existing Examples of Progress:

1. Spanish-language organizing as leverage: In one case, a community organizer intentionally spoke in Spanish at a board meeting to force board members to struggle with translation, highlighting neglect of a 1,000-member Spanish-speaking church. This action mobilized 200 residents to show up at a Saturday meeting and submit 115 letters of support, shifting the agency’s stance. 2. COVID-era risk communication (e.g., color-coded systems) is an effective model for simplifying complex information and improving public understanding, highlighting the value of clear, accessible messaging.

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Inland Deserts, Statewide

State Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by state leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

State Solution

Leverage and fund regional anchor organizations to administer programs and sustain long-term, community-centered partnerships. The state should use trusted regional entities as administering and engagement partners for state programs and provide dedicated, multi-year funding so they can maintain relationships across grant cycles. Sustained investment should support translation, stipends, and culturally appropriate engagement, ensuring continuity, trust, and collaboration between agencies, local governments, and CBOs grounded in local priorities.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): Los Angeles, Inland Deserts, Statewide

State Solution

Require state-funded projects to demonstrate meaningful, early community partnerships. Applicants must show strong, representative partnerships—including with Tribal, immigrant, and marginalized groups—established at the start of project planning rather than as late-stage check-box activities, ensuring community priorities shape project design and outcomes.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego

State Solution

Engage regional intermediaries (COGs, RENs) to support inclusive outreach. Local governments identified regional entities as trusted messengers that can help communicate state resources and engage communities more effectively.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority (RCPA) is an effective structure for information-sharing and multi-jurisdiction engagement.

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, Statewide

Solution Spotlight

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