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What is a Climate Adaptation Plan?

Climate Adaptation is a process of adjusting our behaviors, systems and infrastructure to reduce the impact climate change has on our communities. A Climate Adaptation Plan includes a description of the impacts a city or region will likely face due to climate change (Vulnerability Assessment), and actions a local jurisdiction can take to reduce, or minimize the harm from such impacts (Adaptation Strategies).

Climate Adaptation Planning in the South Bay

It is important to understand how climate impacts will manifest themselves and begin implementing strategies that help the subregion thrive in a variety of future climate conditions. Adaptation strategies aim to increase community resilience, or the ability of our communities to survive and thrive no matter what chronic climate stress or acute shock they experience.

In addition, Senate Bill 379, passed in 2015, requires “a city or county to review and update the Safety Element of their General Plan as necessary to address climate adaptation and resiliency strategies applicable to that city or county, either upon the next revision of a local hazard mitigation plan, on or after January 1, 2017, adopted in accordance with the Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, or if a local jurisdiction has not adopted a local hazard mitigation plan, beginning on or before January 1, 2022.”  By providing a Climate Adaptation Framework for adoption by our cities, the SBCCOG hopes to empower our local jurisdictions to pursue short-term solutions and long-term strategies to cope with current and future climate impacts in accordance with state law.

The SBCCOG has been successful in working collaboratively with member cities to adopt individual Climate Action Plans (CAP).  The SBCCOG will be continuing the adaptation work in this same fashion — utilizing state and local resources, engaging regional partnerships, and preparing a sub-regional Adaptation Framework that can be used by each city for its adoption into their individual CAP, LHMP, or other city planning document. This project took place from October 2018 through August 2019. Find the Sub-Regional Climate Adaptation Plan attached below.