Board of Supervisors approves plan to make Sonoma County government carbon-neutral by 2030

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a plan to make County government operations carbon-neutral by 2030, the latest in a series of actions taken by the Board of Supervisors in an effort to slow climate change and protect county residents from its increasingly dangerous effects. 

The 167-page action plan provides a detailed roadmap to reduce carbon emissions from County operations, increase carbon storage on County-owned lands, and make County lands and operations more resilient to wildfires, droughts, floods and other climate hazards that threaten our communities. 

Supervisors directed County staff to implement 25 near-term steps outlined in the Climate Resilience Comprehensive Action Plan and launch a community engagement strategy that will refine and prioritize future County actions to support climate resilience in local communities. 

“Sonoma County is taking a leading role in addressing a global crisis on a local level,” said Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, vice chair of the Board of Supervisors. “Addressing a problem as big as climate change can seem daunting, but this plan breaks down a massive challenge into a series of achievable and well-defined steps. Today’s vote underscores our commitment to cut local greenhouse gas emissions and fortify Sonoma County against climate hazards.” 

The climate plan provides a roadmap to make County government operations carbon-neutral by 2030, one of the central goals of the five-year strategic plan adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 2021. The plan targets carbon, primarily in the form of carbon dioxide emitted by burning fossil fuels, because it acts as a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the Earth's atmosphere and plays a crucial role in global warming. Carbon neutrality occurs when the amount of carbon taken out of the atmosphere is equal to the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere. 

The County is taking a two-pronged approach to attain carbon neutrality by 2030. First, the plan calls for investments that reduce carbon emissions by increasing the use of renewable energy and using energy more efficiently. At the same time, the plan outlines nature-based solutions that can make County-owned lands more resilient to climate hazards and capable of storing more carbon, preventing it from reaching the atmosphere. 

The plan approved Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors details 54 actions that County agencies can take to reduce carbon emissions from County operations and to increase carbon storage on County-owned lands. They are divided into six sectors: Energy (10 measures), Transportation (12 measures), Waste (10 measures), Water (8 measures) Wildfire (7 measures), and Natural & Working Lands (7 measures). A summary of the plan can be downloaded in English and Spanish, and the full plan can be downloaded here. 

“This plan shows our county is committed to doing more than just talking about the problem of climate change,” said Supervisor Susan Gorin, who played an integral role in getting the action plan started. “The public wants government at all levels to take action, and this shows Sonoma County is doing its part.” 

Implementing all 25 of the near-term measures is expected to cost $38 million over the next two years. The County had previously identified $30.7 million to carry out these actions and the Board of Supervisors allocated an additional $2.7 million on Tuesday. County staff are actively seeking grants to cover the remaining $5 million in near-term costs and will return to the Board of Supervisors in the future to request approval and funding to implement the plan’s mid- and long-term measures. 

The Climate Plan summarizes how the climate is changing in Sonoma County, where average daily temperatures have risen by 2.7 degrees since 1900 and are projected to increase by another 8 degrees by 2070. Rising temperatures are already increasing the frequency and intensity of wildfires and extreme heat events. Climate models also project increases in both droughts and flooding, with rain occurring in bursts of extreme precipitation followed by prolonged dry periods. Rising sea levels are projected to cause salt intrusion into groundwater resources and coastal erosion. 

The Board of Supervisors declared a climate emergency in 2019 and has dedicated more than $100 million in funding from a variety of sources since 2021 to climate resilience. The strategy is designed to minimize damage to our communities, economy and environment by preparing for climate change and responding to its effects.

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Media Contact:
Ted Appel, Communications Specialist
publicaffairs@sonoma-county.org
(707) 565-3040  575 Administration Drive, Suite 104A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403