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Bay Area Regional Climate Action Planning Initiative
Learn about and participate in the Bay Area Regional Climate Action Planning Initiative for the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley Metropolitan Statistical Area, or MSA.
Overview
To reduce the Bay Area’s contributions to global climate change and create a healthier breathing environment, the Air District is creating a regional climate action plan. The Air District has received funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program to lead the process to develop the regional climate action plan for the Northern and Central Bay Area region. This process will leverage this funding and the extensive ongoing climate work being done at the local level across the region to develop a set of feasible, actionable, and broadly supported strategies to respond to a changing climate—and position the Bay Area well for future implementation funding.
This regional planning effort has two phases. The current phase focuses on developing a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) with measures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across all sectors of the economy in a way that benefits frontline communities. Frontline communities bear the brunt of the impacts from fossil fuel dependence and often experience the most immediate and worst impacts of climate change.
The CCAP will be finalized and submitted to U.S. EPA in Fall 2025. Input from a broad range of perspectives and stakeholders will be an essential part of this climate action planning process. Engagement with stakeholders and community organizations will begin soon - sign up at the link at the bottom of the page to receive project updates and information on engagement opportunities.
The previous phase (Priority Climate Action Plan) identified near-term, implementation-ready climate measures in two high-priority sectors that provide significant GHG reductions and benefit frontline communities. The CCAP will propose additional measures and new ones across multiple other sectors that aim to address gaps and/or accelerate local or state actions already identified or in the process of being implemented now.
What is a climate action plan?
A climate action plan is a plan to reduce a community’s or jurisdiction’s GHG emissions and often prepare people for climate impacts. The CCAP will include GHG emission sources from the region and estimate current and potential future emissions from those sources over the next two decades. The CCAP will then include measures or actions to reduce GHG emissions from these sources to transition to a clean economy and create a wide array of local benefits for Bay Area residents.
What is the planning area?
The CCAP will cover Alameda County, Contra Costa County, Marin County, Napa County, City and County of San Francisco, San Mateo County, and the southern portions of Sonoma County and Solano County that are included in the Air District's jurisdiction. Santa Clara County is considered by the EPA as part of a neighboring but separate planning area for the CPRG program and has received its own planning grant. Air District staff coordinate closely with staff from Santa Clara County on the respective regional planning efforts.
What is the Advisory Work Group?
The Air District has convened an Advisory Work Group of regional agency, county, and city staff to help coordinate development of the PCAP and CCAP. Members include regional agencies (the Bay Area Regional Collaborative, the Association of Bay Area Governments’ Bay Area Renewable Energy Network [BayREN], and Metropolitan Transportation Commission), the counties included in the planning area, the City of Oakland, and several community-serving and community-based organizations.
Timeline:
- Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) – Final Plan Submitted to U.S. EPA March 1, 2024
- Funding Implementation Application – Applications due to U.S. EPA by April 1, 2024
- Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) – Final Plan Submitted to U.S. EPA in Fall 2025 (in process)
- Status Report – Submitted to U.S. EPA in June 2027
Comprehensive Climate Action Plan
The Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) will provide a roadmap for meeting regional near- and long-term GHG reduction targets by reducing GHG emissions and enhancing carbon sinks from all sectors of the economy in the Northern and Central Bay Area region. It will build upon the Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) and other important planning work, including local climate action plans and related regional plans (e.g., Plan Bay Area 2050+). The CCAP will identify measures that are cross-jurisdictional and regional in nature and benefit frontline communities.
Engagement for the CCAP will begin in early Fall 2024.
The EPA grant program advances the goals of the Justice40 Initiative set forth in Executive Order 14008, which aims to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of relevant federal investments to disadvantaged communities. Air District staff developed a mapping tool to help identify communities that are considered frontline communities for the purpose of the CPRG planning effort: Bay Area Regional Climate Action Planning Initiative's Frontline Communities Map (arcgis.com). (The U.S. EPA refers to these communities as low-income and disadvantaged communities, or LIDACs.) The map represents the results of different environmental justice screening tools from federal and regional governments.
Take our Bay Area Regional Climate Action Plan Survey!
We are gathering feedback from Bay Area communities on priorities and concerns regarding regional climate goals and potential strategies and actions. Public input is critical to guiding the priorities for BARCAP development - please do take this survey yourself, and feel free to forward this link to your networks.
Survey details: This survey takes 5-10 minutes to complete. Submit a response for a chance to win one of four $50 Amazon gift cards!
Secure Survey Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BARCAP_Survey
Events and Resources
Priority Climate Action Plan
The first phase of this planning effort is a Priority Climate Action Plan, comprised of GHG reduction measures, supporting analyses, and a GHG inventory for high-priority sectors. Funding applications to implement measures in the PCAP were due to the U.S. EPA by April 1, 2024, with successful applicants to be notified in July 2024.
The Priority Climate Action Plan includes:
- Priority Climate Action Plan
- Appendix A – Emissions Inventory Supporting Documentation
- Appendix B – Engagement Documentation
- Appendix C – GHG Reduction Quantification Supporting Documentation
- Appendix D – LIDAC Benefits Analysis Supporting Documentation
- Appendix E – Workforce Planning Analysis Documentation
- Appendix F – Frontline Communities Census Tracts and Census Block Groups
PCAP Working Sessions
The Advisory Working Group, Roundtable members, and other stakeholders participated in a series of sessions with the aim of solidifying and finalizing the PCAP measures.
- Session 1 - October 27, 2023
- Session 2 - November 8, 2023
- Session 3 - November 30, 2023
- Session 4 - December 13, 2023
Public Workshop - November 14, 2023
Background Webinar on the BARCAP Project - October 17, 2023
Sign up to receive updates on the latest BARCAP Lists activities via email notifications for all BARCAP Lists categories.
Last Updated: 09/06/2025