Bay Area Regional Climate Action Plan (BARCAP)

Overview

Climate change is already impacting the San Francisco Bay Area, as experienced through wildfires and smoky air, increased heatwaves, large storms, flooding, and rising seas. Bold action to reduce planet-warming pollution, or greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, is critical to address the climate crisis and prevent its most devastating impacts – and bring key quality of life improvements and economic benefits to the region. To reduce the Bay Area’s GHG emissions while creating healthier air for everyone to breathe, the Air District led development of the Bay Area’s first climate action plan for the Northern and Central Bay Area region: the Bay Area Regional Climate Action Plan (BARCAP). Development of the plan was funded in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program.

The BARCAP effort focuses on four core goals:

• Reduce the Bay Area’s contribution to climate change to help achieve statewide carbon neutrality by 2045
• Take regional action to align, leverage, and accelerate state and local climate action
• Create a healthier breathing environment and provide benefits to frontline communities
• Address important cross-cutting issues that extend across jurisdictional boundaries and economic sectors, such as funding and financing and workforce development

The BARCAP works alongside other plans developed by the State of California and over 80 Bay Area local governments to aggressively fight climate change. Rather than duplicating what is already being done, the BARCAP fills key gaps and enables existing plans to be implemented in  ways that are efficient, equitable, and benefit the whole region.

Engagement During BARCAP Development

The plan was developed with robust input from an Advisory Work Group, frontline communities, community-based organizations (CBOs), local governments, technical stakeholders, and the public. Ensuring that frontline communities were engaged during development and benefited from the plan was a core goal of the project. Frontline community perspectives were intentionally sought out early in the measure-drafting process. In total, 168 frontline community members were engaged through four multilingual, subregional workshops, designed and led in partnership with eight CBO partners. The plan received 409 public comments which were incorporated into the final plan language. For more information on how public comments shaped the BARCAP, see the Summary Response to Public Comment document(137 Kb PDF, 4 pgs, posted 2026/4/1).

About the Plan

The BARCAP lays out a set of actionable and impactful strategies - 16  measures and 57 actions - to accelerate the transition to a cleaner economy and carbon-neutral future. The BARCAP measures and actions span across 5 sectors: transportation, residential and commercial buildings, electricity generation (power), waste and materials management, and agriculture/natural and working lands.

Truly a regional plan, the BARCAP brings together more than 35 implementers to lead and/or support implementation of the measures and actions. Successful implementation of the BARCAP will reduce climate pollution, improve regional and local air quality, create jobs and spur economic growth, and enhance public health and quality of life in the Bay Area. The BARCAP is designed to ensure these important benefits reach frontline communities who often experience greater impacts from fossil fuel dependence, such as disproportionate air pollution, and experience the impacts of climate change first and worst.

The Bay Area Regional Climate Action Plan includes the following documents:

• Bay Area Regional Climate Action Plan(18 Mb PDF, 227 pgs, posted 2026/4/1)
• BARCAP Summary Handout(991 Kb PDF, 4 pgs, posted 2026/4/1)
• Appendix A – BARCAP Regional Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Report(1 Mb PDF, 46 pgs, posted 2026/4/1)
• Appendix B – 2022 Natural and Workings Lands Inventory Report(3 Mb PDF, 42 pgs, posted 2026/4/1)
• Appendix C – Technical Methodology for Quantifying GHGs, Co-pollutants, and Costs(1 Mb PDF, 52 pgs, posted 2026/4/1)
• Appendix D – Frontline Communities Impacts Analysis(796 Kb PDF, 44 pgs, posted 2026/4/1)
• Appendix E – Engagement Approach(2 Mb PDF, 46 pgs, posted 2026/4/1)
• Appendix F – Workforce Planning Analysis(1 Mb PDF, 55 pgs, posted 2026/4/1)
• Appendix G – Funding Roadmaps(1 Mb PDF, 15 pgs, posted 2026/4/1)
• Appendix H – Glossary(256 Kb PDF, 9 pgs, posted 2026/4/1)

BARCAP Vision for 2045

Together, we envision a Bay Area where achieving our climate goals fosters thriving communities, healthy natural systems, and a sustainable and prosperous economy. On the path to that future, we will create family-sustaining jobs, inspire innovation, improve air quality and public health, and prioritize environmental justice.

Implementing the BARCAP

Achieving the goals and intended benefits of the BARCAP will require thoughtful implementation by more than 35 implementers. While the Air District coordinated development of the BARCAP, it is just one of many implementers, including but not limited to local governments, regional agencies, utilities, community choice aggregators,  nonprofits, and community-based organizations. A successful transition to a healthy and clean economy will require participation and leadership from regional and local governments, business and industry, community and environmental groups, educational institutions, and the Bay Area population itself. Success will also require accountability and transparency through tracking and reporting, continued public outreach and education, and securing the workforce, funding, and financing needed to equitably execute the plan.

By rising to this challenge together, the region can achieve a carbon neutral future that provides cleaner air, thriving communities, healthy natural ecosystems, and a sustainable, inclusive, and prosperous economy for everyone. To stay updated on implementation, sign up to receive informational emails at the bottom of this page.

Support for BARCAP Development – U.S. EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Program Deliverable Details

Development of the plan was funded in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CRPG) program. As a CPRG grant recipient, the Air District received funding to develop a regional climate action plan in two phases - the Priority Climate Action Plan and the Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (referred to as the BARCAP). To learn more about the process of developing the CPRG deliverables, you can follow these links.

BARCAP Information

Frequently Asked Questions

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 BARCAP includes GHG emission sources from the region and estimates current and potential future emissions from those sources over the next two decades. The BARCAP also 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 BARCAP covers 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 U.S. 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 and will continue to do so during plan implementation.

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 BARCAP. 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.

How are frontline communities identified?
For the BARCAP initiative, the Air District used the U.S. EPA’s IRA Disadvantaged Communities map (which combines the federal tools Climate & Economic Justice Screening Tool and EJ Screen, and any geographic area within tribal lands), as well as the Air District’s identified AB 617 communities and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Equity Priority Communities to identify frontline communities. Air District staff developed a mapping tool to help identify communities that are considered frontline communities for the purpose of the BARCAP planning effort: Bay Area Regional Climate Action Planning Initiative's Frontline Communities Map (arcgis.com).