Tag Archives: Climate Solutions

Big Day of Giving 2023!

Sacramento’s Big Day of Giving is right around the corner and ECOS would like to engage you!

The Environmental Council of Sacramento has been a powerful advocacy organization in the Sacramento region for over 50 years. We advocate for aggressive reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. We support green building practices such as using recycled materials and electrification of all buildings and vehicles. We argue for new parks, transit, and “complete streets” in environmentally impacted urban areas, especially near freeways and heavy industry, and in historically red-lined areas. With the climate crisis growing and affordable housing a critical need, our advocacy efforts are needed more than ever.

It’s easy to make a difference in the Sacramento region during Big Day of Giving. Donations as small as $15 add up to make a big impact!

Between now and Thursday, May 4, please donate to keep ECOS advocacy vibrant!

Donate Now

Climate Conversations: Tipping Points 3/30

Join us for a conversation about how to prepare for the consequences of abrupt changes in human and natural systems, and how to encourage positive social tipping points.

Thursday, March 30, 2023 12:00pm PST

With continued climate change, elements of the Earth system may reach tipping points—abrupt, dramatic changes with irreversible consequences—like the rapid collapse of ice sheets or dieback of the Amazon rainforest. Tipping points also exist in human systems: devastation from extreme weather and major stresses on food, energy, and water could accumulate and tilt society into a radically different state with new dynamics, including mass migration or major economic shifts. However, tipping points in human systems can also be positive and stem from rapidly spreading norms, behaviors, and technologies, such as how battery storage could tip the power sector irreversibly towards renewable energy. Laurie Goering (Thomson Reuters Foundation) will moderate a conversation between Ilona M. Otto (University of Graz) and Rachael Shwom (Rutgers University) about the tipping points we are approaching, how to prepare for those we may reach, and how to encourage positive social tipping points for action on climate change.

The conversation will be webcast on the Climate Conversations: Tipping Points webpage on Thursday, March 30, 2023 from 12:00 to 1:15pm PST. Closed captioning will be provided. The conversation will include questions from the audience and will be recorded and available to view on the page after the event.

Click here to learn more and register.

The State of the Transport System 3/7

March 7, 7AM-8AM a.m. PST

Transport accounts for 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions and is the world’s second fastest growing source of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Major action is needed to transform the transport system to meet climate goals – from shifting to zero-carbon cars, trucks, ships and planes; to improving the availability of clean, modern and affordable public transportation; to providing safe walking and cycling networks; to implementing new measures to reduce unnecessary trips and wasted fuel.

Join Systems Change Lab and WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities on March 7 for a high-level discussion of the current state of play in the global transport system and the five critical shifts needed to achieve global climate goals:

  1. Guarantee reliable access to safe and modern mobility
  2. Reduce avoidable vehicle and air travel
  3. Shift to public, shared and non-motorized transport
  4. Transition to zero-carbon cars and trucks
  5. Transition to zero-carbon shipping and aviation

Panelists will explore the shared importance of vehicle electrification and shifts to active mobility, the role of various actors in catalyzing new solutions for aviation and maritime shipping, the status of tipping points in driving exponential progress, and how a systems approach can help us reimagine transport as we know it.

This session will set the stage ahead of Transforming Transportation 2023, organized by the World Bank and WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.

Moderator: Ani Dasgupta, President & CEO, World Resources Institute

Opening Remarks: Felipe Ramírez, Urban Mobility Director, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

Panelists:

  • François Bausch, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Mobility and Public Works and Minister of Defence, Luxembourg
  • Maruxa Cardama, Secretary General, SLOCAT Partnership on Sustainable, Low Carbon Transport
  • Binyam Reja, Global Practice Manager for the Transport Practice in the Infrastructure Vice Presidency of the World Bank
  • Sandra Roling, Director of Transport, The Climate Group

Click here to learn more.

Click here to register.

ECOS Support for City of Sacramento Transportation Infrastructure Adaptation Plan Grant Application

On February 22, 2023, ECOS submitted a letter of support for the City of Sacramento Transportation Infrastructure Adaptation Plan Grant Application to The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program.

Below is an excerpt.

Sacramento is one of California’s oldest cities and our city’s transportation infrastructure is some of the oldest in the region. Sacramento is also home to over a half million people and three-quarters of the region’s disadvantaged communities. This older infrastructure is not ready for the current and worsening strain of climate change. Award of this funding would allow the City to begin the necessary work to ready our community’s transportation network for the increasing risk associated with climate change and ensure a high level of service to our most vulnerable community members.

Click here to read the letter.