SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE
Meeting Date: May 11, 2026
Subject: RECOMMEND County membership in the Local Government Climate Alliance to the Legislative Committee and the Board of Supervisors
Submitted For: John Kopchik || Director | DCD
Department: DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION & DEVELOPMENT
Presenter: Jody London || Sustainability Coordinator | DCD
Contact: Jody London | (925) 655-2896
Referral History:
Local governments lack a voice in Sacramento to advocate for the nuanced and often technical climate solutions that are needed to reach local climate goals and keep communities safe. The County's Sacramento lobbyists are good, and responsive when we identify priorities. However, they do not focus on climate issues and are tracking a range of issues for the County.
The Local Government Climate Alliance (LGCA) is a new group that unites California cities and counties to advocate for bold, equitable climate policies at the state legislature. The LGCA leverages joint advocacy, knowledge-sharing, and collective influence to accelerate action that delivers benefits to local communities across California. Initial members of LGCA include the City & County of San Francisco, cities of Santa Monica, Cupertino, Santa Cruz, Mountain View, Santa Barbara, and the counties of San Mateo and Monterey, with over two dozen additional local governments currently evaluating membership.
Referral Update:
There are multiple reasons why membership in the LGCA would be valuable:
* The Sustainability Committee asks staff to track and report on legislation relevant to implementation of the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP). At any given time, there are dozens of bills under consideration. It would be valuable to have access to a group like LGCA who tracks this in detail.
* The ongoing discussions at the state level about energy affordability are leading to some proposals that could compromise or threaten funding for the Bay Area Regional Energy Network (BayREN), a key...
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