Loading

Goal A Expand economic opportunities for California by building climate resilience

  1. Home
  2. Priorities

Priority

Build a Climate Resilient Economy

All Priority Goals

Actions

  • Action 1 Support regions experiencing economic transitions resulting from climate impacts with a focus on good-paying jobs, environmental sustainability, and broad access to opportunities for a diversity of businesses and workers.

    Success Metric: Direct investments from the California Jobs First Regional Investment Initiative programs to support the creation of good-paying jobs in individual program guidelines.

    Timeframe: 2026

    Agency/Agencies: Labor and Workforce Development Agency | Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development

    For More Details: California Jobs First Initiative Announcement

    Success Metric: Build a clear set of metrics to track implementation of the California Jobs First Economic Blueprint, measuring both short-term and long-term outcomes.

    Timeframe: 2025 and ongoing

    Agency/Agencies: Labor and Workforce Development Agency | Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, in coordination with all relevant state agencies

    For More Details: California Jobs First Initiative Announcement

    Success Metric: Implement contracts focused on plugging and sealing orphan wells to support training the workers needed for responsible and safe decommissioning of oil and gas facilities. Build the skilled and trained workforce that is required to be included in all contracts after January 1, 2028.

    Timeframe: 2028

    Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency - Department of Conservation |Labor and Workforce Development Agency – Workforce Development Board

    For More Details: Department of Conservation Oil and Gas; Oil Well Capping Training

    Success Metric: Build a pilot geologic reservoir model that identifies suitable reservoirs for carbon dioxide storage in the San Joaquin Valley. Use the model to identify associated job opportunities that could be filled by hires from the oil and gas sector.

    Timeframe: 2025

    Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency - Department of Conservation, State Lands Commission

    For More Details: Geologic Carbon Sequestration in California

  • Action 2 Protect agricultural land from development and provide the technology, tools, and resources necessary to maintain the economic viability, resiliency, and biodiversity of California’s agricultural lands.

    Success Metric: Number of plans to guide improvements in soil health and habitat created through California Department of Food and Agriculture grant programs.

    Timeframe: 2025

    Agency/Agencies: Department of Food and Agriculture

    For More Details: Conservation Agriculture Planning Grants Program

    Success Metric: Number of Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program-funded local land use plans to conserve agricultural lands.

    Timeframe: Annual

    Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Conservation

    For More Details: Division of Land Resource Protection

    Success Metric: Number of Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program grants and Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program grants in the same region that support a regional approach to affordable housing and land conservation.

    Timeframe: Ongoing

    Agency/Agencies: Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, Formerly the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research – Strategic Growth Council

    For More Details: Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities; Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation

  • Action 3 Support and incentivize climate resilience in the agricultural sector through the promotion of climate smart agricultural practices.

    Success Metric: Number of Healthy Soils Program projects funded, acres of resilience-building and soil protecting measures from incentives, and outreach through demonstration projects as part of the Healthy Soils Program.

    Timeframe: Annual

    Agency/Agencies: Department of Food and Agriculture

    For More Details: Healthy Soils Program

    Success Metric: Support participation in the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program that improves agricultural water use efficiency and/or diversifies farm income.

    Timeframe: Annual

    Agency/Agencies: Department of Food and Agriculture

    For More Details: State Water Efficiency & Enhancement Program

    Success Metric: Ensure stability of critical pollinator populations by supporting pollination projects and providing technical assistance support.

    Timeframe: Annual

    Agency/Agencies: Department of Food and Agriculture

    For More Details: Pollinators; Healthy Soils Program

    Success Metric: Increase early detection and rapid response ability to prevent or eradicate new or expanding pests.

    Timeframe: Ongoing

    Agency/Agencies: Department of Food and Agriculture

    For More Details: Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services Division

    Success Metric: Adoption of climate-smart practices by agricultural communities.

    Timeframe: Annual

    Agency/Agencies: Department of Food and Agriculture

    For More Details: Office of Environmental Farming and Innovation; Specialty Crop Block Grant Program; Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Projects

  • Action 4 Enhance and protect California’s nature-based tourism economy through resilience investments.

    Success Metric: Coordinate shared management of California’s inland recreation landscapes among federal, state, tribal and local land managers, communities, and members of the recreation economy.

    Timeframe: Ongoing

    Agency/Agencies: Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, CalRec Vision workgroup

    For More Details: Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force

    Success Metric: Ensure attractive recreation facilities are supported as economic drivers in gateway recreation communities, and that these facilities are protected and rebuilt during and after wildfire and other climate-driven disasters.

    Timeframe: Ongoing

    Agency/Agencies: Wildfire and Fire Forest Resilience Task Force, CalRec Vision workgroup

    For More Details: Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force

  • Action 5 Maintain continued public access to California’s coast in light of changing shoreline conditions and sea level rise, prioritizing climate vulnerable communities.

    Success Metric: Identify locations where public access destinations, the California Coastal Trail, the San Francisco Bay Trail, or routes that facilitate access to these areas may be limited or eliminated in the future due to sea level rise and increased storm events. Begin planning for contingencies to maintain maximum public access such as through new vertical access ways, trail relocations, rerouting of transportation corridors, bluff top facility enhancements, migration space, or other alternatives that incorporate adaptation measures to ensure long-term continuance of public access.

    Timeframe: 2026

    Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency –Coastal Commission, State Coastal Conservancy, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, State Lands Commission | State Transportation Agency - Caltrans

    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; Ocean Protection Council Strategic Plan; State Coastal Conservancy Strategic Plan

  • Action 6 Develop adaptive management approaches to assess and effectively respond to climate-caused shifts in fisheries.

    Success Metric: Number of new Enhanced Status Reports (ESRs) and Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) developed for priority species as required by the Marine Life Management Act; ESRs and FMPs provide clear objectives and measures for fostering sustainable fisheries in the face of various stressors, including climate change.

    Timeframe: Annual

    Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Fish and Wildlife, Ocean Protection Council

    For More Details: Ocean Protection Council Strategic Plan; California Marine Species Portal; Readying California Fisheries for Climate Change

  • Action 7 Bring to scale a thriving forest and wood products market in California that leverages public investments by energizing private capital for sustainable forest management, regional economic recovery, and climate resilience.

    Success Metric: Deploy $17 million in federal funds under the Biomass Utilization Fund in Tuolumne County. Create over 30 jobs, with over half the job opportunities offered to low- and moderate-income individuals.

    Timeframe: 2025

    Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Sierra Nevada Conservancy

    For More Details: Biomass Utilization Fund

    Success Metric: Support pilot projects that sustainably use forest-sourced biomass residues to create carbon-negative fuels or other products.

    Timeframe: 2030

    Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Conservation

    For More Details: Forest Biomass to Carbon-Negative Biofuels Pilot Program

    Success Metric: Deploy pilot projects to inform the development of regional strategies to establish reliable access to woody biomass feedstock from forest health activities through a variety of feedstock aggregation mechanisms and organizational innovations.

    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 | Natural Resources Agency – Department of Conservation, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Board of Forestry | Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development – Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank

    For More Details: Biomass Aggregation Pilots Fact Sheet

    Success Metric: Maintain CAL FIRE’s Business and Workforce Development Grant Program.

    Timeframe: Annual

    Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

    For More Details: Wood Products and Bioenergy

    Success Metric: Reduction of agricultural burning in the San Joaquin Valley.

    Timeframe: 2025

    Agency/Agencies: Environmental Protection Agency – Air Resources Board

    For More Details: San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Burning

    Success Metric: Develop a geographically-diversified circular bioeconomy for forest, agriculture, and urban wood waste. Finalize and begin implementation of the State's Wood Utilization Strategy to build markets for forest waste, using successes to increase recovery of wood waste and build and support circular bioeconomies using agricultural and urban wood waste.

    Timeframe: 2025

    Agency/Agencies: Natural Resources Agency - Department of Conservation, Department of Forestry and Fire Protection| Environmental Protection Agency – Air Resources Board, Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery | Public Utilities Commission | Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development – Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank | Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation | Department of Food and Agriculture

    For More Details: GO-Biz Wood Product & Biomass; Wood Utilization Work Group