Kate Meis

“How will you and your community respond to these opportunities?”

Kate Meis
Executive Director, Local Government Commission

California faced many climate challenges (from wildfires to droughts) last year – while these challenges remain the New Year has already brought with it new opportunities.

Governor Brown launched his new administration with a stirring State of the State address that doubled down on key goals to mitigate climate impacts, including doubling efficiency of existing buildings, cutting the use of fossil fuels in half, and providing 50% renewable energy by 2030. He followed up this outline with a 2015-16 budget proposal that supports strong action on climate change and sustainable water management, including $1 billion in cap-and-trade funding and $533 million in water bonds.

State agencies have released their grant guidelines for last year’s cap and trade funds sparking many innovative new project proposals. Senator Fran Pavley introduced legislation that would sustain California’s progress on climate change by extending AB32 targets to 2050.

At the federal level, the President’s Taskforce on Climate Resilience and Preparedness has released recommendations, which would eliminate a number of critical barriers and create new incentives for climate progress. We’ve also seen international conversations take a turn with a joint announcement from the U.S. and China on climate change and clean-energy cooperation.

As leaders across the state –

• How will you and your community respond to these opportunities?
• Will the 15-year trajectory set by the Governor be enough to make California climate-resilient?
• Do we have the right policies and practices in place to meet state and federal goals?

On behalf of the Local Government Commission, we look forward to a transformational year!