Climate Change and Sustainability

California has experienced a major shift in environmental policy as a result of AB 32, SB 97, and SB 375. We now have to plan and develop our communities in a more sustainable way. Many of our clients have found themselves at the center of climate change-related issues, legal threats, and increased environmental scrutiny. In recognition of the continuing changes in this area, we have developed creative and effective approaches to dealing with global warming and climate change while planning for more sustainable futures. Our expertise places our clients at the forefront of climate change-readiness, including: mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and climate change impacts, identifying and exploiting carbon sequestration resources, preparing legally-defensible plans and environmental documents, and creating climate action plans and strategies. We are uniquely qualified to address your climate change needs with capabilities that include:

  • Advising clients on voluntary programs and registry participation (e.g., ICLIE) and writing grants for climate change-related programs and activities (e.g., Energy and Efficiency Conservation Block Grants)
  • Educating clients, decision-makers, and stakeholders on the importance of global warming and associated legislation, greenhouse gas emissions and reduction measures, global and regional climate change impacts, carbon sequestration opportunities, and how to implement climate change legislation
  • Developing and conducting custom public outreach programs on global warming, climate change, and sustainability
  • Developing and employing methodologies to quantify baseline greenhouse gas emissions inventories and establishing reduction targets for communities
  • Preparing realistic goals, policies, implementation programs, and actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to regional climate change impacts, and exploit local carbon sequestration resources
  • Analyzing the costs and benefits of greenhouse gas reduction and sustainability measures
  • Updating General Plans to be climate change-ready, preparing Climate Actions Plans (CAPs) and Strategies, and developing regional plans (e.g., Sustainable Communities Plans or Alternative Communities Strategies) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
  • Developing and operating programs to monitor the effectiveness of policies and programs in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for climate change impacts
  • Preparing legally-defensible plans and environmental documents (CEQA/NEPA)
  • Representation in regional planning efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (i.e., implementation of SB 375)

 

Recent Projects

Sacramento Climate Action Plan

We are currently working with Ascent Environmental, Inc. to prepare the City of Sacramento Climate Action Plan (CAP) and associated environmental review documents. The focus of the CAP is to build upon the City’s sustainability initiatives, reduce community wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, prepare the city to adapt to the expected impacts of climate change, and maximize CEQA streamlining benefits for future development projects. As part of the program we identified, organized, and analyzed existing and new community-wide GHG reduction and climate change adaptation measures and actions that provide a framework for the City to achieve its GHG reduction target and goals and foster a climate change resilient community.

Within the CAP we combined the City’s Phase 1 municipal operations greenhouse gas reduction plan with the community-wide analysis to create a single, comprehensive document. The CAP takes an innovative approach to address the two major climate change challenges: reducing GHG emissions and planning for climate change impacts. The Plan emphasizes the potential to achieve emissions reductions and adaptation by implementing multi-purpose measures and actions. It also highlights the co-benefits and costs implications of taking a more sustainable approach to living and working in the city. We also prepared a graphical summary of the CAP for the City to use in its efforts to educate the community on how they can support the City’s sustainability and climate action efforts.

Major Work Products
Draft Climate Action Plan