California Regional Action Update: San Francisco Bay Area

ICLEI USA
June 3, 2009

The Bay Area has always been a hub of climate change-related activity, and is now starting to pioneer a variety of regional models that could set a precedent for the State and the country.  Every county in the region is continuing to develop a process for engaging the local governments in climate actions, with varying focuses on inventorying, climate action planning, and implementation.

Alameda County

In Alameda County, Stopwaste (the Alameda County Waste Management Authority) is creating the Green Packages project, which is a countywide effort to establish standards and specifications for green renovations of existing buildings in the county. The program is intended to institutionalize green building efforts in the county, making local governments in Alameda County more competitive for stimulus funding and other long term funding opportunities. Main thrusts of the program include coordinating coordinate consumer outreach for energy retrofits and providing training for, and verification and tracking of, energy efficiency retrofits. It is intended to be compatible with local governments that choose to adopt CEMF districts through AB 811 (or Mello Roos districts). 

San Mateo County

The San Mateo City/County Association of Governments adopted the San Mateo County Energy Strategy in 2008, and the Strategy has since been (or will soon be) adopted by 19 local governments.  To implement the energy and water reduction goals in the Strategy, the County has hired an energy officer to coordinate implementation and provide assistance to local governments, and has provided volunteers to each of the local governments to assist them with their inventories and climate plans. Moving forward, C/CAG has established the San Mateo County Energy Watch program to fund energy efficiency retrofits and provide outreach assistance and workshops for local governments.

Sonoma County

Sonoma County has implemented a countywide clean energy municipal financing program and the Sonoma County Transportation Authority has hired a Regional Climate Protection Coordinator to coordinate efforts across the county. Through this coordinator, SCTA is connecting with PG&E and other partners to develop a countywide building retrofit program with a goal of bringing the equivalent of 80 percent of existing buildings to an improvement of 30 percent energy efficiency within six years.

Napa County

The Napa County Transportation and Planning Agency has hired a consultant to see the local governments through the inventorying and action planning process, creating a countywide plan in the process.

Contra Costa County

Local governments in western Contra Costa County are coordinating to consider applying for competitive grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Marin County

At the end of a long community and municipal process, the Marin Energy Authority was formed in December as a JPA of nine local governments in Marin County.  The MEA is the designated agency that will implement the Marin Clean Energy program, a community choice aggregation program that will allow the cities to directly purchase electricity from suppliers, including renewable suppliers. MEA is issuing RFPs to qualified energy service providers, with the plan to finalize contacts by spring 2010.

Regional Action

Regional approaches are also being pioneered by Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, the Contra Costa County Climate Leaders Program, and the Solano County Transportation Authority.

At a regional level, the four regional agencies, through the Joint Policy Committee, have selected six joint actions for 2009 and 2010. While each action will be led by one agency, successful implementation will require assistance and support from the other partners. This approach will allow the agencies to take bold actions that can only be effectively implemented at the regional level. Working together, the regional agencies will:

1. Begin developing the Bay Area's Sustainable Community Strategy (SB 375). (ABAG/MTC)

2. Design and adopt an Indirect Source Rule. (BAAQMD)

3. Develop and advance climate-friendly regional parking policies. (MTC)

4. Provide support for a coordinated public/private regional plan for electric vehicles. (BAAQMD/MTC)

5. Design and implement a regional solar installation/energy efficiency financing program for existing residential/commercial buildings. (ABAG)

6. Coordinate a regional/local approach to climate adaptation. (BCDC/ABAG)

In addition, the regional agencies are developing "Climate Bay Area" to provide alignment and coordination for Bay Area climate programs and projects. This coordinating group—consisting of staff from key public, private and community stakeholders—will be a unifying “meeting place” for the region, ensuring complementary action, reducing duplication, and bringing resources to the common problems confronting all Bay Area climate efforts.