Tag Archives: Climate Planning

“Climate Compass”: Elk Grove’s Plan to Implement Climate, Sustainability, & Resilience Goals – Presentation 8/21/2024

Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) Climate Change Committee Meeting: Thursday, August 21, 2025

Featuring a special presentation on the “Climate Compass”: Elk Grove’s Plan to Implement Climate, Sustainability, & Resilience Goals

Zoom Link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6656164155 | To phone in: 669-900-6833, Meeting ID: 665 616 4155
And in-person, at Mogavero Architects, 1322 T St., Sacramento, CA

The City of Elk Grove is updating its draft climate action plan, titled the “Climate Compass”.
Intended as a roadmap for climate mitigation and adaptation, it also addresses broader sustainability and resilience efforts.

New measures are proposed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from transportation and buildings – through policies such as compact development, electric vehicle infrastructure, and building energy efficiency.

City efforts have been led by Carrie Whitlock, Elk Grove’s Long Range Planning Program Manager. She has been working on climate, sustainability, and resilience in Elk Grove since 2019. Previously, Carrie worked on climate change at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and 20 years for the U.S. State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development, serving in Rwanda and Cambodia.

5:30 PM: Social period (join us for snacks and drinks!)
6:00 PM: Welcome and Introductions
6:10 PM: Carrie Whitlock will overview the Climate Compass and the Climate Compass Dashboard which lists the Compass actions and impacts. Compass comments are due August 15; ECOS and others have submitted comments. Carrie will share her thoughts on how the Compass may be revised in light of the comments received. State legislation calls for carbon neutrality by 2045, a goal that has been made more difficult by federal actions this year.

ECOS Letter

On August 15, 2025, ECOS submitted a letter to the City of Elk Grove regarding their Climate Action Plan, also called the Climate Compass. Click here to read the letter. Click here for the attachment to the letter.

Join the discussion and learn more about the City of Elk Grove climate plans!

After Q&A, we’ll have updates and announcements (open to all).
Updates to include recent Sacramento City & County actions on Natomas development projects.

20 Years Later, How Are City Climate Plans Actually Going?

Science Friday with Susan Scott Peterson | June 21, 2024

Are Cities Meeting Their Climate Targets?
“The state of decarbonization is lopsided. It’s really imbalanced in this country,” says Hilari Varnadore, a vice president at the U.S. Green Building Council, where she oversees a national program that helps cities with sustainability goals. “We have places—cities and states—that are just really accelerating progress, big time. And then there [are] just places that it’s moving super slow.”

Click here to read the article in full.

Sacramento County doesn’t postpone 2030 climate goal — for now

Kristin Lam | July 12, 2023 | Capital Public Radio

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday didn’t postpone a carbon neutrality goal after dozens of climate activists pushed back against proposed changes.

County staff had recommended the board change the goal from 2030 to no later than 2045 in order to match state plans, make the timeline more achievable and reduce the risk of lawsuits.

Instead of approving or rejecting the suggested update, the board asked staff to present another version of the climate emergency declaration in late September or early October. In a 3-1 vote, with Supervisor Sue Frost abstaining, the board requested revisions including adding a requirement to measure progress on reducing emissions every five years.

Click here to read or listen to the full article.

Sacramento County Climate Emergency Resolution, BOS Item on 7/11

On July 11, 2023, the Sacramento County Planning and Environmental Review staff presented a recommendation to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors to amend the Climate Emergency Resolution to be consistent with the State’s 2045 carbon neutrality goal.

You can watch a recording of the July 11, 2023 Sac County Board of Supervisors meeting here: https://agendanet.saccounty.gov/BoardOfSupervisors/Meetings/ViewMeeting?id=7961&doctype=1. The Climate Emergency Resolution Update presentation (Item 72) starts at 6 hours into the video.

Watch Live Online

The meeting is videotaped and cablecast live on Metrocable 14 on the Comcast, Consolidated Communications and AT&T U-Verse Systems. It is closed captioned and webcast live at http://metro14live.saccounty.gov. There will be a rebroadcast of this meeting on Friday at 6:00 p.m.

Give Comments

In-Person public comment

Speakers will be required to complete and submit a speaker request form to Clerk staff.  Each individual will be invited to the podium to make a comment.

Telephonic public comment

Dial (916) 875-2500 on the day of the meeting to make a comment. Follow the prompts for instructions and refer to the agenda and/or listen to the live meeting to determine when is the best time to call to be placed in queue for a specific agenda/off agenda item. Each caller will be transferred from the queue into the meeting to make a comment accordingly. Please be prepared for an extended waiting period.

Written public comment

Members of the public may send a written comment which is distributed to Board members and filed in the record. Contact information is optional and should include the meeting date and agenda/off agenda item number to be sent as follows:

Sacramento County Climate Emergency Resolution

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors declared a climate emergency in December 2020 and adopted a climate emergency resolution that identified the County’s existing and future actions to reduce communitywide greenhouse gas emissions. The resolution specified several commitments and goals, including an ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.

Sacramento County’s Sustainability Manager has been implementing the actions specified in the Climate Emergency Resolution over the last two years through coordination and collaboration with the Climate Emergency Mobilization Task Force, other jurisdictions in the Sacramento metropolitan area, and local organizations and interest groups. Planning and Environmental Review staff have continued refining the County’s Communitywide Climate Action Plan as a result of feedback received on multiple public draft versions.

The California Air Resources Board adopted the 2022 Climate Change Scoping Plan in late 2022, and Assembly Bill 1279 became law in September 2022. Both the Scoping Plan and AB 1279 establish a statewide goal of achieving carbon neutrality as soon as possible but no later than 2045.

On July 11, 2023, Planning and Environmental Review staff will present a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors to amend the Climate Emergency Resolution to be consistent with the State’s 2045 carbon neutrality goal. This recommendation does not change the actions of the Climate Emergency Mobilization Task Force or their timeline and commitment to working with the Sustainability Manager to prepare a Climate Emergency Response Plan. All County staff will continue to be ambitious and aggressive in reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the Climate Emergency Resolution and Planning and Environmental Review staff will continue their diligent work to finalize the Communitywide Climate Action Plan.

More details on the status and next steps on the Communitywide Climate Action Plan will be available in mid-July.