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CSAC to Develop Policy on Climate Change
By Steve Keil, Interim Executive Director
skeil@counties.org
Climate change is a hot topic. From the barrage of media coverage to international attention, climate change is an issue that has reached just about everyone. Similarly, in California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which establishes a regulatory and market mechanisms program with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) to 1990 levels by 2020. While specific impacts of AB 32, California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, on counties remain for the most part undetermined, certain early action items have been identified that will impact local governments.
As a result of this and a significant amount of pending climate change-related legislation this session, CSAC has established a working group on climate change, with the objective of developing climate change policy statements that would be utilized by CSAC staff as a foundation for lobbying efforts on behalf of counties.
The first meeting of the CSAC Climate Change Working Group was held on June 8. The meeting was attended by a diverse group of county representatives, including: supervisors, public works directors, county counsels, air districts representatives, environmental health and planning directors, to name a few. The meeting also included outside speakers from the Air Resources Board, Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), Planning and Conservation League, the forestry community and the Institute for Local Government (ILG).
This first meeting of the working group was a tremendous educational session, including a roundtable session that involved the exchange of actual county practices and what counties are currently doing in reaction to climate change- related issues.
The policy discussion included dialogue regarding the role counties should play, and how we should be included in the process at the state level as regulations are being developed. Specifically, the group asserted that representatives from CSAC and the League of California Cities be included on the Local Government/ Smart Growth Subcommittee of the Climate Action Team.
Discussion also included the need for additional grants, loans and incentives for counties to implement climate-change related activities, including general plan updates, addressing climate change in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) documents, greening local fleets, and state and local green building initiatives, among others. ILG provided insight into how counties can learn from one another through their California Communities Climate Action Program, which is a forum for information and best practices for cities and counties.
CSAC staff is in the process of drafting the working group’s comments into draft climate change policy statements, which will be brought back to the working group at its follow-up meeting in the end of June. The draft policy guidelines developed by the working group will be referred to the CSAC Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Committee and the CSAC Housing, Land Use and Transportation Policy Committee for review and development of a recommended position to the CSAC Board of Directors.
If you are interested in participating in this group or would like additional information please contact Karen Keene, CSAC Legislative Representative at 916/327-7500, ext. 511, or kkeene@counties.org or Cara Martinson, CSAC Legislative Analyst at 916/327-7500, ext. 504, or cmartinson@counties.org.
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION
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