Title
a. Receive a presentation from staff and Ascent Environmental on the public draft of the Community Climate Action & Adaptation Plan and the online platform that will be used for the 60-day public comment period; and,
b. Provide feedback on the public draft version of the Community Climate Action & Adaptation Plan; and,
c. Recommend that the public draft of the Community Climate Action & Adaptation Plan proceed to the Board of Supervisors for consideration; and,
d. Provide direction to staff as needed.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Alternative Energy and Environment Committee:
a. Receive a presentation from staff and Ascent Environmental on the public draft of the Community Climate Action & Adaptation Plan and the online platform that will be used for the 60-day public comment period; and,
b. Provide feedback on the public draft version of the Community Climate Action & Adaptation Plan; and,
c. Recommend that the public draft of the Community Climate Action & Adaptation Plan proceed to the Board of Supervisors for consideration; and,
d. Provide direction to staff as needed.
SUMMARY:
Staff recommend that the Alternative Energy & Environment Committee receive an update on the Community Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CCAAP), provide feedback, and recommend that the public draft proceed to the Board of Supervisors for further discussion. If so moved, staff will present the public draft CCAAP to the Board of Supervisors, receive feedback, and release the CCAAP for a 60-day public comment period.
The public draft will be available for public comment at the following URL: <https://montereyclimateaction.konveio.com/>. This online tool was demonstrated to this committee on July 24, 2025. Since then, staff have completed the internal review process, engaged with external stakeholders, and re-developed Chapter4: Natural and Working Lands to better fit the needs of Monterey County and to comprehensively discuss carbon sequestration and the carbon stock of the county.
Public comment and participation during the comment period is a key part of the CCAAP’s development and the County’s commitment to public engagement throughout the drafting of the plan. Staff will engage with stakeholders across the County during the public comment period to encourage thoughtful dialogue and community participation. Additionally, the public draft CCAAP is available in both English and Spanish to maximize participation. Previously, staff has held 15 outreach events and public presentations on the CCAAP, including a third community workshop attended by 32 people on December 4, 2024, and a fourth Sector Working Group on December 16, 2024, attended by 38 people. Staff have incorporated community feedback received at this stage into the initial draft of the CCAAP.
DISCUSSION:
The CCAAP contains 8 chapters as follows: 1: Introduction, 2: Background; 3: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, Forecasts, and Targets; 4: Natural and Working Lands; 5: Climate Adaptation and Resilience; 6: Climate Action and Adaptation Strategies; 7: Implementation and Monitoring; 8: Works Cited; and several appendices. Collectively, these chapters discuss the County’s challenge in aligning with State climate goals, the impacts of climate change on the county, potential strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the ongoing effects of climate change, and the additional ongoing work that will be required to implement and monitor these strategies.
The CCAAP is aligned with State climate goals established by SB 32 to reduce emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030, and by AB 1279 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85% by 2040 and to reach carbon neutrality by 2045. Monterey County’s fair share of these reductions are as follows:
• 2030 target: 28 percent below 2019 levels (895,223 MTCO2e)
• 2040 target: 66 percent below 2019 levels (416,425 MTCO2e)
• 2045 target: 86 percent below 2019 levels (177,026 MTCO2e)
These goals are discussed in more detail in Chapter 3: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, Forecasts, and Targets. Proposed strategies to meet these ambitious targets are discussed in Chapter 6: Climate Action and Adaptation Strategies. The potential strategies are enough to reach the county’s 2030 and 2040 reduction goals; however, these strategies alone fall short of the 2045 goals by 11%. Ultimately, this CCAAP fulfills its purpose as a planning document and complies with General Plan Policy OS-10.11 by charting a path to meet both the 2030 and 2040 goals, and staff recommend that this committee advance the document to the Board of Supervisors for consideration. The climate action planning process is meant to be an iterative one. As such, the Sustainability Program will be tasked with reevaluating how the County can meet the 2045 goal as part of future updates with more information on the status of climate action in the county and a better understanding of the landscape for opportunity.
Implementing these strategies will require substantial commitment across County departments, the Board of Supervisors, partner agencies, and community-based organizations, as well as ongoing community engagement activities. Many of the strategies represent novel tasks to County departments and will need to be supplemented by additional staff, consultants, and funding from the County and external sources. Chapter 7: Implementation and Monitoring outlines the coordination necessary for strategy implementation, details a short-term suite of actions to be taken through 2030, and presents a high-level estimate of the cost of implementing the CCAAP. The cost analysis in Chapter 7 provides a sense of scale for the level of investment required to adequately address the county’s climate impact. Additionally, the analysis assumed that the Sustainability Program would undertake the majority of the workload of CCAAP implementation with collaboration from other departments, which will require the Board of Supervisors to prioritize funding the operating activities of the Sustainability Program.
The presentation will include a demonstration of how members of the public can provide public comment on the draft CCAAP during the 60-day public comment period. This will be done via the CCAAP website where community members can directly comment on a PDF version of the document. The URL for the website is: <https://montereyclimateaction.konveio.com/>. To supplement engagement during the comment period, staff will conduct outreach events and meetings with residents and stakeholders on how to provide comment online.
If members of the public do not wish to use the platform for engagement, they may send their comments to climate@countyofmonterey.gov <mailto:climate@countyofmonterey.gov>. Staff asks that the public kindly include “Public Comment CCAAP” in the subject line.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Staff have collaborated with the Communications Bureau to reach the public during the CCAAP process and will continue this collaboration during the public comment period. The Sustainability Program has sought reviews of CCAAP documents from multiple departments including Housing & Community Development, Public Works Facilities & Parks, Department of Emergency Management, Agricultural Commissioner’s Office, the Health Department, the Monterey County Water Resources Agency, and the Economic Development Program. The Sustainability Program has also collaborated with the external partners listed in Chapter 7 including the Transportation Agency for Monterey County, Monterey-Salinas Transit, the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments, the Resource Conservation District of Monterey County, the Monterey County Farm Bureau, the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership California State University Monterey Bay, and the University of California Cooperative Extension.
FINANCING:
This item has no financial or budgetary impact at this time. Potential projects will be brought to the Board of Supervisors for consideration through the committee process.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
Mark a check to the related Board of Supervisors Strategic Initiatives
_X_ Economic Development
_X_ Administration
_X_ Health & Human Services
_X_ Infrastructure
_X_Public Safety
Prepared by: Cora Panturad, Sustainability Program Manager x5338
Approved by: Debbie Paolinelli, Assistant County Administrative Officer x5309
Attachments:
County of Monterey Public Draft CCAAP English
County of Monterey Public Draft CCAAP Spanish