Orange County, January 25, 2023 - Today, Climate Action Campaign (CAC) unveiled its inaugural Orange County Climate Action Plan (CAP) Report Card at a press conference at the Santa Ana Transit Center. The Report Card grades Orange County cities on their plans and actions to address the climate crisis locally. At the press conference, a representative from Congresswoman Katie Porter’s office recognized the importance of this report and offered a Certificate of Congressional Recognition.

The report found that Orange County is lagging behind other California counties, putting residents at risk, worsening environmental injustices, and causing cities to miss out on unprecedented federal and state funding.

At the press conference, co-author Alexis Hernandez explained, “Across the board, OC CAPs are out-of-date, or unfunded and unimplemented. Over 80% of OC residents live in a city without a Climate Action Plan. Without meaningful climate policies, cities put residents at further risk of climate impacts like heat waves and wildfires.”

The top-scoring cities were Huntington Beach, Fullerton, and Santa Ana. They were recognized for their respective commitments to meeting and implementing state climate targets, bike infrastructure and clean energy, and the development of affordable, infill housing near transit and jobs. Unfortunately, these gains are overshadowed by local governments’ failure to adopt comprehensive policies to reach their climate goals.

Without equity goals, increased staffing and the prioritization of sustainability departments and implementation planning, these cities continue to fall farther away from reaching their CAP goals.

The report outlined key recommendations for local cities:

Act Now for The Health and Well-Being of The Community: To protect the health and safety of OC residents, cities must act now to create meaningful CAPs.

Create Enforceable, Comprehensive, and Legally-Binding CAPs: Many OC cities either lack a CAP or do not have a legally-binding CAP. These CAPs are inadequate and rarely implemented because they are often not comprehensive, not legally binding, and not accessible to the public.

Get Serious About Implementation Planning: CAPs must include strong measures with key implementation timelines, cost estimates, and breakdowns of responsibilities.

Prepare Now so OC Doesn’t Get Left Behind for Funding: Historically, OC has received little climate funding, but there is now an unprecedented opportunity to win billions of dollars in state and federal funding. Cities without CAPs and those unable to demonstrate effective planning will miss these once-in-a-lifetime funding opportunities.

Add Adequate Climate Staff and Budget: Most OC cities do not have dedicated climate or sustainability staff, so climate policy is passed to departments without the time or expertise to carry out CAP strategies, causing CAPs to be forgotten.

Prioritize and Follow Through on Annual Monitoring: OC cities with CAPs must share annual monitoring reports, so residents know whether and where the city is delivering on its climate promises.

Electrify Everything: “Natural” methane gas is the region's third-largest source of GHG emissions and a powerful cause of global warming. Currently, no OC city has adopted an electrification policy. Cities must adopt strategies to transition off methane and electrify buildings and transportation as soon as possible.

Uplift Communities of Concern and Create More Good Green Jobs: Climate change hits hardest in the communities already burdened by pollution, environmental health impacts, and socioeconomic challenges. Orange County cities must ensure that these communities benefit first from climate investments and jobs and that nobody, including fossil fuel workers, is burdened or left behind when transitioning to zero carbon.

At the press conference, Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said, “despite our natural resources, Orange County is decades behind on planning to protect them. Thank you to Climate Action Campaign for highlighting the need for local climate planning with this report card. My office is working to develop Orange County’s first Climate Action Plan, and I look forward to working with our departments to achieve net-zero county government operations. It’s a new day in Orange County where we prioritize climate action.”

Read the full report at: bit.ly/OCCAPReportCard

To view the recorded live stream of the press conference, please click here. To access images from the event, please click here. Photo Credit: Ariana Criste with Climate Action Campaign.