A new report finds Orange County and most of its cities are woefully behind in addressing climate change. The failure to plan for rising temperatures isn’t just bad environmental policy; it means local governments could miss out on key funding.
The Climate Action Plan Report Card was published by the nonprofit Climate Action Campaign (CAC) to gauge governments’ sustainability progress.
Just six out of 34 Orange County cities have a comprehensive plan to address climate change, according to the report: La Habra, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Santa Ana, Laguna Beach and San Clemente. Only Huntington Beach requires the city to meet state targets for greenhouse gas reductions.
The county has no action plan at all. Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said the county is finishing collecting data so it can get to work on a countywide plan.
CAC’s Lexi Hernandez warns the cities that are lagging could forfeit state and federal dollars.
“If Orange County cities fail to plan, we will lock communities out of once-in-a-lifetime funding for healthy homes, better bikes, transit, EV, and pedestrian infrastructure, for more trees and green space, and all other climate solutions that our communities need and deserve," she told LAist.
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