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Priority
Make Decisions Based on the Best Available Climate Science
Actions
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Action 1 Support consistent integration of climate risk into federal, state, local, and tribal decision making through regularly updated actionable guidance and technical assistance.
Success Metric: Update the Planning and Investing for a Resilient California Guidebook (implementing EO B-30-15 and EO N-19-19) and develop flexible and user informed guidance resources to facilitate decision making using best available science.
Timeframe: 2025
Agency/Agencies: Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation,Formerly the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research - Planning and Policy
For More Details: Planning and Investing for a Resilient California
Success Metric: Coordinate technical assistance efforts to align state adaptation resources, provide guidance on how and when to use various resources, and develop support resources that are responsive to user needs
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation,Formerly the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research – Planning and Policy
For More Details: Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program; General Plan Guidelines and Technical Advisories
Success Metric: Number of updated General Plan Safety Elements and/or other locally adopted plans, that address current climate adaptation and resilience requirements pursuant to SB 379 (2015, Jackson) and SB 1035 (2018, Jackson).
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation,Formerly the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research – Planning and Policy
For More Details: Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program; General Plan Guidelines and Technical Advisories
Success Metric: State agency staff and local governments utilize updated state sea level rise guidance, to plan for sea level rise adaptation, impacts, and hazards in a way that is responsive and flexible, and based on best available science and unique local community contexts when implementing SB 272 (2023, Laird).
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Water Resources, Ocean Protection Council, Coastal Commission, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, State Lands Commission | Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, Formerly the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research – Planning and Policy
For More Details: State of California Sea Level Rise Guidance: 2024 Science and Policy Update
Success Metric: Provide resources and scientific guidance to agencies and the public to understand potential exposure to and impacts of sea level rise and groundwater rise to contaminated sites.
Timeframe: 2025
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Ocean Protection Council, Coastal Commission, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, State Lands Commission | Environmental Protection Agency – Department of Toxic Substances Control, State Water Resources Control Board | Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, Formerly the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research – Planning and Policy
For More Details: Planning and Investing for a Resilience California, California’s Sea Level Rise Guidance; Coastal Commission Coastal Management Program 309 Assessment and Strategy; 2021-2025 Coastal Commission Strategic Plan; Coastal Commission Sea-Level Rise Policy Guidance; Sea Level Rise Working Group Joint Statement on Sea-Level Rise Adaptation Planning; Ocean Protection Council Strategic Plan; San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission Bay Adapt
Success Metric: Issue guidance on the use of pathways of adaptation and resiliency measures for site cleanups.
Timeframe: 2026
Agency/Agencies: Environmental Protection Agency – Department of Toxic Substances Control
For More Details: Site Mitigation and Restoration Program
Success Metric: Identify available climate adaptation tools and assessment methodologies to be applied to permitted hazardous waste facilities that are vulnerable to impacts of climate change, including sea level rise, wildfires, floods, and other extreme weather events.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Environmental Protection Agency – Department of Toxic Substances Control
For More Details: Department of Toxic Substances Control’s Permits Protect People and the Environment from Climate Change Impacts at Hazardous Waste Facilities
Success Metric: Increased use of sea level rise as a factor in assessing and cleaning up contaminated sites in vulnerable communities.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Environmental Protection Agency – Department of Toxic Substances Control, State Water Resources Control Board
For More Details: Department of Toxic Substances Control Sea Level Rise
Success Metric: Provide policy guidance and other forms of technical assistance to Coastal Commission staff, tribal and local governments, and other state agencies in support of updating Local Coastal Programs to address climate impacts, such as addressing environmental justice and equity in sea level rise planning, increased risk of wildfire and post-fire land management, droughts, seawater intrusion and ocean acidification.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Coastal Commission
For More Details: Coastal Commission Coastal Management Program 309 Assessment and Strategy; 2021-2025 Coastal Commission Strategic Plan; Coastal Commission Sea Level Rise Policy Guidance; Sea Level Rise Working Group Joint Statement on Sea Level Rise Adaptation Planning
Success Metric: Develop and provide pre-fire hazard maps and a statewide model to support on-the-ground capacity building to address potential post-fire flash floods, and debris flow hazards.
Timeframe: 2025
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Conservation
For More Details: Burned Watershed Geohazards
Success Metric: Support climate resilient post-mining land use planning by local governments through reclamation plan review and comment, including climate resilience information in 100 percent of relevant comment letters.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Conservation
For More Details: Division of Mine Reclamation
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Action 2 Improve wildfire smoke guidance for schools, children, and other vulnerable populations. Develop outreach materials for health care providers and the public on wildfire smoke health effects and ways to decrease exposure.
Success Metric: Develop guidance on the health effects of wildfire smoke for vulnerable populations including children; develop fact sheets and other outreach materials on wildfire smoke risks and adaptation measures for use by county health departments, health care providers, and school authorities; conduct consultations with the Environmental Protection Agency and other state agencies on wildfire smoke risks and adaptation measures.
Timeframe: 2025
Agency/Agencies: Environmental Protection Agency - Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment | Health and Human Services Agency - Department of Public Health | Department of Education
For More Details: Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment Strategic Plan: 2018 Update; Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment Children’s Health Web Page; Department of Public Health Emergency Preparedness Office
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Action 3 Understand climate impacts on agricultural land viability to help inform conservation decisions and strategies.
Success Metric: Coordinate information sharing with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources’ agriculture adaptation research team.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Department of Food and Agriculture
For More Details: Department of Conservation Division of Land Resource Protection; California Conservation Planning Partnership
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Action 4 Improve the ability of regions to anticipate water-related weather and climate changes.
Success Metric: Increased tribal and regional engagement in water-related decision making by conducting watershed-scale climate vulnerability and adaptation assessments.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Water Resources, Delta Stewardship Council| Department of Food and Agriculture | Environmental Protection Agency – State Water Resources Control Board | Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, Formerly the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research – Planning and Policy
For More Details: Water Resilience Portfolio, 2023 Progress Report; San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission Adapting to Rising Tides Program; Watershed Resilience Program; California Water Plan Update 2023, Chapter 7: Strengths and Resources of California Tribes; Delta Stewardship Council's Delta Adapts Climate Initiative; California’s Fifth Climate Change Assessment; Tribal Research Program
Success Metric: Improve spatial coverage of climate change studies to ensure all hydrologic regions have comprehensive climate change analyses.
Timeframe: 2028
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Water Resources
For More Details: Water Resilience Portfolio, 2023 Progress Report
Success Metric: Increase the number of flood control facilities implementing Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operations to improve storm event management and enhance water supply opportunities.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Water Resources | United States Army Corps of Engineers
For More Details: Water Resilience Portfolio, 2023 Progress Report
Success Metric: Complete watershed scale climate vulnerability and adaptation studies for the San Joaquin River watershed and its tributaries.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Water Resources
For More Details: Water Resilience Portfolio, 2023 Progress Report; First-of-its-Kind Watershed Study Highlights How Innovative Tools Help Build Climate Resilience in the San Joaquin Valley
Success Metric: Complete five pilot watershed resilience plans addressing climate change vulnerability and adaptation, led by regional networks, and use lessons learned to update guidance for State funding.
Timeframe: 2026
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Water Resources
For More Details: Water Resilience Portfolio, 2023 Progress Report; Watershed Resilience Program; Watershed Resilience Framework and Toolkit
Success Metric: Develop and make available sub-watershed-scale high-resolution models to assess and forecast climate water deficit and inform state land managers of drought risk.
Timeframe: 2025
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Fish and Wildlife
For More Details: Water Resilience Portfolio, 2023 Progress Report
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Action 5 Ensure proposed Clean and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund projects account for impacts related to climate change.
Success Metric: Number of Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund-supported projects with mitigation or adaptation measures, as applicable to the project, implemented as fully as practicable.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Environmental Protection Agency – State Water Resources Control Board
For More Details: Resolution No. 2017-0012; Clean Water State Revolving Fund; Drinking Water State Revolving Fund
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Action 6 Ensure proposed Salton Sea Management Program projects account for climate change impacts.
Success Metric: Number of Salton Sea Management Program funded projects with climate mitigation and adaptation benefits implemented as fully as practicable.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency
For More Details: Salton Sea Management Program
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Action 7 Integrate consideration of California’s most recent downscaled climate change projections into state conservation decisions.
Success Metric: Number of conservation planning efforts that incorporate climate projections resulting from California's Fifth Climate Change Assessment.
Timeframe: 2026 and ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Fish and Wildlife, Wildlife Conservation Board
For More Details: Department of Fish and Wildlife Natural Community Conservation Planning Program; Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Regional Conservation Investment Strategies Program; State Wildlife Action Plan
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Action 8 Incorporate the best available science, including the use of adaptation pathways, on sea level rise and coastal hazards into policies, plans, and permits and have explicit processes for updating these with new information.
Success Metric: Number of state-wide policies, plans, permits, or documents completed to reduce future damage from coastal hazards (e.g., wave run up, storm surge, tsunami, erosion, saltwater intrusion, groundwater rise), and address sea level rise.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Coastal Commission, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, Ocean Protection Council, State Lands Commission | Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, Formerly the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research – Planning and Policy
For More Details: Coastal Commission Coastal Management Program 309 Assessment and Strategy; 2021-2025 Coastal Commission Strategic Plan; Coastal Commission Sea-Level Rise Policy Guidance; Sea Level Rise Working Group Joint Statement on Sea Level Rise Adaptation Planning; San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission Bay Adapt; San Francisco Bay Plan; Ocean Protection Council Strategic Plan
Success Metric: Number of Local Coastal Programs or other plans completed to reduce future damage from coastal hazards (e.g., wave run up, storm surge, tsunami, erosion, saltwater intrusion, groundwater rise), and address sea level rise.
Timeframe: Annual
Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Coastal Commission, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, Ocean Protection Council | Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, Formerly the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research – Planning and Policy
For More Details: Coastal Commission Coastal Management Program 309 Assessment and Strategy; 2021-2025 Coastal Commission Strategic Plan; Coastal Commission Sea-Level Rise Policy Guidance; Sea Level Rise Working Group Joint Statement on Sea Level Rise Adaptation Planning; San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission Bay Adapt; San Francisco Bay Plan; Ocean Protection Council Strategic Plan; State Lands Commission Shoreline Adaptation Report
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Action 9 Incorporate updates, including the addition of new practices into the climate smart agricultural incentive program benefit calculators, as science supports.
Success Metric: Make changes to climate smart agricultural incentive program benefit calculators and consider adding new eligible practices as science supports.
Timeframe: Every two years
Agency/Agencies: Department of Food and Agriculture
For More Details: Office of Environmental Farming & Innovation
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Action 10 Support knowledge exchange and outreach to develop a deeper understanding of climate change impacts on crops and livestock, future climate change projections, and decision support tools available for farmers and ranchers.
Success Metric: Create and distribute videos and educational material regarding Climate Smart Agriculture on the Department of Food and Agriculture website, as well as the level of distribution of these materials in areas of agricultural production.
Timeframe: Annual
Agency/Agencies: Department of Food and Agriculture
For More Details: Office of Environmental Farming & Innovation
Success Metric: Number and geographical distribution of field days supported by the Healthy Soils Program, and number of technologies discussed at field days.
Timeframe: Annual
Agency/Agencies: Department of Food and Agriculture
For More Details: Office of Environmental Farming & Innovation; Healthy Soils Program Demonstration Grant
Success Metric: Farmer engagement with Community Education Specialists from University of California Cooperative Extension services to expand awareness of climate smart agricultural practices; measure numbers of workshops and attendees.
Timeframe: Annual
Agency/Agencies: Department of Food and Agriculture
For More Details: Office of Environmental Farming & Innovation
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Action 11 Provide science-based guidance on cool and sustainable pavements.
Success Metric: Improvement in pavement durability and longevity.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: State Transportation Agency – Caltrans
For More Details: Pavement Program
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Action 12 Develop an urban heat island effect index, including a definition consistent with the legislative intent in AB 296 (Skinner, 2012), and assess the extent and severity of the urban heat island effect for California cities to inform quantifiable reduction goals.
Success Metric: Reduction in the severity of urban heat island effect in targeted cities.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Environmental Protection Agency - Air Resources Board | Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, Formerly the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research – Planning and Policy | Government Operations Agency – Department of General Services, Building Standards Commission | Natural Resources Agency – Department of Forestry and Fire Protection | State Transportation Agency – Caltrans
For More Details: Urban Heat Island Index for California
Success Metric: Integrate the index into local climate action plans.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Environmental Protection Agency - Air Resources Board | Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation,Formerly the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research – Planning and Policy | Government Operations Agency – Department of General Services, Building Standards Commission | Natural Resources Agency – Department of Forestry and Fire Protection | State Transportation Agency – Caltrans
For More Details: Urban Heat Island Index for California
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Action 13 Incorporate climate considerations into state, tribal, and local emergency planning efforts.
Success Metric: Create or request a Federal Emergency Management Agency certified training course on climate change for emergency management personnel and create criteria for tracking utilization and effectiveness of this training.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Governor’s Office of Emergency Services
For More Details: Emergency Management Credentialing and Certificate Information
Success Metric: Update the State Hazard Mitigation Plan (SHMP) every five years and as needed between SHMP updates to meet the state’s goal of risk reduction, continuing to build upon climate adaptation strategies and best practices in the SHMP 2023 update.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Governor’s Office of Emergency Services
For More Details: Hazard Mitigation
Success Metric: Require climate adaptation strategies to be integrated into mitigation actions in Local Hazard Mitigation Plans.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Governor’s Office of Emergency Services
For More Details: Hazard Mitigation
Success Metric: Number of Dam Emergency Action Plans submitted, reviewed, and approved.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Governor’s Office of Emergency Services
For More Details: Dam Safety Planning
Success Metric: Present to and engage with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services Access and Functional Needs Stakeholder advisory committee on the Adaptation Planning Guide and its usability, accessibility, and functionality.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: Governor’s Office of Emergency Services
For More Details: California Adaptation Planning Guide
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Action 14 Prioritize investments that reduce climate risk to California’s transportation system based on exposure and sensitivity analyses of climate change and natural disasters.
Success Metric: Maintain a transportation resilience improvement plan to identify and respond to future disruptions.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: State Transportation Agency – Caltrans | Environmental Protection Agency – State Water Resources Control Board
For More Details: State Climate Resilience Improvement Plan for Transportation; Sea Level Rise Coastal Adaptation Planning Guidance for Critical Infrastructure; California Transportation Plan 2050
Success Metric: Maintain a statewide repository of location-specific adaptation strategies that can be incorporated into infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation projects.
Timeframe: Ongoing
Agency/Agencies: State Transportation Agency – Caltrans | Environmental Protection Agency – State Water Resources Control Board
For More Details: California Transportation Plan 2050
Success Metric: Promote the increased use of simulation systems and predictive technologies to understand how future disruptions may impact infrastructure and travel patterns.
Timeframe: 2025
Agency/Agencies: State Transportation Agency – Caltrans | Environmental Protection Agency – State Water Resources Control Board
For More Details: California Transportation Plan 2050
Success Metric: Update Caltrans District Vulnerability Assessments with the latest science, including broadening to include natural hazards impacted by climate change (e.g., landslides) and to include the state’s multimodal transportation system. Continue to integrate information into planning and project delivery processes.
Timeframe: 2025
Agency/Agencies: State Transportation Agency – Caltrans | Environmental Protection Agency – State Water Resources Control Board
For More Details: California Transportation Plan 2050
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Action 15 Integrate climate adaptation and resilience principles into the design, construction, and operation of the High-Speed Rail system.
Success Metric: Increase the number of climate hazard assessments conducted through the High-Speed Rail Safety and Security Management Plan, and number of mitigative actions taken that stem from those assessments.
Timeframe: 2025
Agency/Agencies: State Transportation Agency – High-Speed Rail Authority
For More Details: California High-Speed Rail 2021 Climate Adaptation Plan Highlights
Success Metric: Hold Climate Adaptation Implementation Committee meetings to review analysis results, consequences, adaptation decisions, etc.
Timeframe: Annual
Agency/Agencies: State Transportation Agency – High-Speed Rail Authority
For More Details: California High-Speed Rail 2021 Climate Adaptation Plan Highlights
Success Metric: Revise the High-Speed Rail Safety and Security Management Plan to improve how climate hazards are evaluated.
Timeframe: Annual
Agency/Agencies: State Transportation Agency – High-Speed Rail Authority
For More Details: California High-Speed Rail 2021 Climate Adaptation Plan Highlights
Success Metric: Add climate resilience and adaptation criteria to the Design Criteria Manual and procurement documents.
Timeframe: 2025
Agency/Agencies: State Transportation Agency – High-Speed Rail Authority
For More Details: California High-Speed Rail 2021 Climate Adaptation Plan Highlights