Climate Resilience Action Plan

Projects are Already Underway and Collaboration is Needed

Last week the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its strongest warning yet: climate disruptions are accelerating at a dangerous pace, and humanity’s window for a livable future is rapidly closing. The sense of urgency to take bold steps towards adaptation and risk reduction has never felt greater.

The IPCC release was timely in its call to action, as this week we released our first-ever action plan for climate resilience across Santa Barbara County: Achieving Climate Resilience on the California Central Coast. This action plan highlights the most pressing climate threats to our region and outlines the urgent solutions needed to protect ourselves from them.

The report targets five key priorities for building resilience:

• Increasing resilience to wildfire

• Protecting public health from heat and wildfire smoke

• Supporting local agriculture and food systems

• Elevating climate justice and equity

• Building capacity and collaboration

Our region is becoming increasingly vulnerable to devastating wildfires due to extreme drought and heat conditions exacerbated by climate change. We must leverage the collective wisdom of our community and take bold action if we are going to keep our community safe – now and into the future.

You can read more about how we developed and are implementing the action plan in our latest blog. 

In health,

Sharyn Main, Director of Climate Resilience
Community Environmental Council