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Goal B Improve understanding of climate impacts on California’s communities, including what drives vulnerability

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Priority

Strengthen Protections for Climate Vulnerable Communities

All Priority Goals

Progress Indicators

  • Scoping: Scoping and organizing action; collecting input and conducting community engagement.
  • Securing Funding: Securing funding; beginning project work.
  • Underway: Work underway; documentation and reporting in progress.
  • Nearing Completion: Work nearing completion.
  • Complete: Work complete; shifting to ongoing maintenance, monitoring, evaluation and assessment.
  • Ongoing Improvements: Ongoing advancements; continual improvements.

Actions

  • Action 1 Identify the most climate vulnerable communities in California to direct and inform actions across sectors and regions that reduce risk and build resilience.

    Success Metric: Launch a statewide and all-risk, web-based platform that identifies climate vulnerable communities.

    Timeframe: 2022

    Agency: CA Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, in coordination with all relevant state agencies

    For More Details: Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program

    Progress Indicator: Securing funding; beginning project work

    Success Metric: Provide technical assistance support to ensure utilization of the platform in state and local decision-making.

    Timeframe: Ongoing, after 2022

    Agency: CA Governor’s Office of Planning and Research

    For More Details: Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program

    Progress Indicator: Scoping

  • Action 2 Improve and refine quantitative wildfire risk assessments across California to identify the most wildfire vulnerable communities and populations for inclusion in California’s Vulnerable Communities Platform.

    Success Metric: Develop consistent wildfire risk assessment methodology through the California Fire Adapted Communities Work Group.

    Timeframe: 2022 and ongoing

    Agencies: Natural Resources Agency – Department of Forestry and Fire Protection | Governor’s Office of Planning and Research

    For More Details: California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan

    Progress Indicator: Scoping

    Success Metric: Conduct statewide analysis of wildfire hazard potential and adaptive capacity that can be used to identify communities that may be especially vulnerable to this threat, in addition to other pollution burdens and vulnerabilities.

    Timeframe: 2022

    Agency: Environmental Protection Agency – Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

    For More Details: Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment CalEnviroScreen

    Progress Indicator: Underway

  • Action 3 Increase the collection, analysis, and reporting of data on climate-related health impacts.

    Success Metric: Indicators, models, and/or tools added to the Department of Public Health Climate Change and Health Vulnerability Indicators for California data visualization platform and/or available for public use in assessing and addressing the health effects of climate change. Indicators, models, and/or tools will be informed by community input regarding user needs.

    Timeframe: 2022 and annually thereafter

    Agency: Health and Human Services Agency – Department of Public Health

    For More Details: Climate Change and Health Equity Section; Change and Health Vulnerability Indicators for California

    Progress Indicator: Scoping

    Success Metric: Bibliography with plain language summaries of health outcome/epidemiological studies; number of published epidemiological studies examining human health impacts of climate-related stressors.

    Timeframe: Biennial updates to bibliography; biennial reporting out of published studies

    Agency: Environmental Protection Agency – Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

    For More Details: Human Health Impacts of Climate Change; Indicators of Climate Change in California

    Progress Indicator: Underway

    Success Metric: Incorporate indicators of impacts on human health in the Indicators of Climate Change in California report, as data become available.

    Timeframe:2022 and every four years thereafter

    Agency: Environmental Protection Agency – Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

    For More Details: Human Health Impacts of Climate Change; Indicators of Climate Change in California

    Progress Indicator: Ongoing Improvements

  • Action 4 Support actionable, community-driven, and equitable research partnerships to inform and accelerate climate adaptation action based on best available climate science.

    Success Metric: Research informs climate action by community organizations, state agencies, tribes, local and regional governments, and others.

    Timeframe: 2022–2026

    Agencies: Governor’s Office of Planning and Research – Strategic Growth Council | Natural Resources Agency – Energy Commission

    For More Details: California Climate Change Assessments

    Progress Indicator: Securing funding; beginning project work

  • Action 5 Assist emergency managers and planners in identifying, locating, and deploying resources to populations at greater risk from climate impacts.

    Success Metric: Reliable access to quality, accurate data to ensure functionality of the California Access and Functional Needs Viewer (mapping tool) and other emergency planning tools.

    Timeframe: 2022 and ongoing

    Agency: Governor’s Office of Emergency Services

    For More Details: Access and Functional Needs Viewer; Listos California Impact Report; My Hazards Planning Tool

    Progress Indicator: Scoping

  • Action 6 Document the impacts of climate change on tribal nations, their communities, traditional foods, cultural resources, and ecosystems by collaborating with tribes to document, as part of the Indicators of Climate Change in California Report, their perspectives, expertise, and traditional knowledges on climate change-related stressors.

    Success Metric: Indicators of Climate Change in California Report released, including related materials on tribal impacts.

    Timeframe: 2022 and every four years thereafter

    Agency: Environmental Protection Agency - Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

    For More Details: Indicators of Climate Change: Impacts on California Tribes

    Progress Indicator: Ongoing Improvements

  • Action 7 Improve the understanding of climate change and its impacts on California’s cultural heritage, including tribal nations.

    Success Metric: Complete assessment of climate impacts on cultural heritage based on emerging understanding being discussed through the Cultural Resources Climate Change Taskforce.

    Timeframe: 2022, and every other year thereafter

    Agency: Natural Resources Agency – State Parks Office of Historic Preservation and participating Task Force agencies

    For More Details: Cultural Resources Climate Change Task Force

    Progress Indicator: Nearing Completion

  • Action 8 Hold a Public Health Workgroup of the California Climate Action Team on the mental and behavioral health impacts of climate change, including climate grief, and strategies to bolster personal and community resilience as the climate change health crisis accelerates.

    Success Metric: Climate change mental health and resilience strategies among diverse populations discussed and disseminated; meeting recording available online.

    Timeframe: 2022–2023

    Agencies: Health and Human Services Agency – Department of Public Health | Environmental Protection Agency – Air Resources Board

    For More Details: Climate Change and Health Equity Section; Climate Action Team Public Health Workgroup Meetings

    Progress Indicator: Nearing Completion