Climate Mitigation and Adaptation News

June 28, 2023

Join SGC for a Regional Workshop of the Fifth Assessment!

Please join California’s Fifth Climate Change Assessment (Fifth Assessment) team at

UC Davis for in-person workshop on July 11th, from 8:30am - 12:30pm! During this meeting, the public is invited to provide input on the draft framework for the Regional Synthesis Reports (regional reports), identify local priorities to be addressed through the Fifth Assessment, and begin identifying partners interested in being part of regional author teams. 

Local and regional partners representing science/academia, community-based organizations (CBOs), tribes and tribal organizations, local governments, and others are encouraged to attend. 

Each workshop will follow an interactive format from 8:30am - 12:30pm, including presentations, breakout discussions, and opportunities to network with partners in your region. There will be two invite-only afternoon sessions from 1:30pm - 3:30pm - a Tribal Research Program roundtable for tribes and tribal-serving organizations and a separate meeting for University of California and California State University participants.  

Additional information on registration is available here.

The Program for the 2023 California Adaptation Forum is

Now Available!

The 2023 California Adaptation Forum, taking place on July 31st to August 2nd in Pomona, CA, will be the first time California’s adaptation community is convened in person in five long years! Our team is excited to attend and forge new connections with California’s climate leaders. We hope to see you there and encourage you to register here.

Sacramento Regional Water Bank: Goal, Objectives, Principles, and Constraints

This is the first of a series of papers that will introduce and describe the process and considerations related to the development and implementation of the Sacramento Regional Water Bank (Water Bank). This document defines the Water Bank goal, objectives, principles, and constraints that provide the framework to set the direction for subsequent Water Bank activities and focus development of options and the overall project description. This full report is available here.

OPR's 2023 Annual Planning Survey

OPR administers the Annual Planning Survey to all California jurisdictions to identify planning and policy trends and ways to support local planning efforts. Through this year's survey, OPR aims to learn whether jurisdictions are initiating plans and programs that recognize past and present inequities and foster equality, equity (including racial equity), and improved quality of life for all Californians. The due date to complete the survey is Friday, June 30th, 2023. You can take this survey here.

Event: EV Ride and Drive at Meadowview

July 8th, 12:00 - 5:00 PM

One of the best ways to experience an EV is to take one for a test drive. At this ride and drive event you will get to experience the latest in EV technology, talk to EV owners about their experiences, learn about EV charging, and find out about inventives and rebates ahat help make EVs an affordable option. This event in being held in partnership with the Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum. This event will take place at Florin Square/Mi Rancho parking lot, on the corner of Florin Rd. & 24th St., Sacramento.

CRCRC Resource: Capital Region Water Project

Landscape Analysis

This landscape analysis is meant to take stock of the ongoing water management and groundwater-related efforts currently being planned and implemented throughout the Capital Region. This includes an overview of the priorities, ongoing projects, and recent challenges to practitioners in the field throughout 2022 and the beginning of 2023.

This analysis was put together through a series of interviews conducted with representatives of various organizations working on water-related efforts throughout the Capital Region. For readers not involved with water policy, this landscape analysis can serve as a window into the field. For those who work in water this report can, hopefully, provide an insight into what your peers have been hard at work on while potentially facilitating additional regional coordination around this work.

Additional context and this full report is available here.

Join CRCRC's Building Decarbonization Working Group!

Are you working on building decarbonization in California's Capital Region? Join

CRCRC's Building Decarbonization Working Group! This group meets the fourth Thursday of each month from 3:00 - 4:00 PM.

If you are looking for specific input/ guidance or have any updates related to recent building decarbonization efforts that you would like to share with other participants from the region you are encouraged to complete this interest form and join the working the working group!

Share an Update through this Newsletter!

If you or anyone at your organization has updates you would like to have promoted through this newsletter, utilize this form to submit them to be included in this newsletter! This can include any updates, upcoming projects, or opportunities for collaboration that you would like to share with the broader CRCRC network!

PPIC Survey: 3 out of 4 Californians Want Immediate

Climate Action

ABC10

California's climate is historically volatile, but climate change is only increasing this volatility and the majority of Californians want to see meaningful change. A recent poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) showed 3 out of 4 Californians think it's necessary to take steps immediately to counter the effects of climate change. “Californians are definitely, when you look, compared to the nation, more supportive. They're more aware, they're more concerned,” said Dean Bonner with the PPIC. Read this full article here.

Governor Newsom Welcomes President Biden Back to California, Highlights New Investments in Climate Action and Clean Energy

Office of Governor Gavin Newsom

Governor Gavin Newsom joined President Biden and a California Climate Action Corps volunteer in Palo Alto last week to lift up the President’s announcement of more than $600 million in federal grant funding for climate resilience projects across the country. President Biden also announced that California will receive $67 million in federal funding to help build power lines and transmission infrastructure, supporting the state’s transition to 100% clean electricity by 2045. Read this full article here.

US-German Satellites Show California Water Gains After

Record Winter

California Institute of Technology

After years of intense drought and diminishing groundwater, California just saw its greatest year-over-year water gains in two decades, according to data from the GRACE-FO (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On) satellite mission, a partnership between NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). This past winter’s bonanza of atmospheric rivers alleviated some of the water deficit that the state incurred during periods of drought over the last 10 years, which included the three driest years on record in California. Read this full article here.

California's Historic Snowpack is Melting. Here's What that Means for the State's Waters 

Los Angeles Times

“The ‘big melt’ is on the way.” That was UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain’s warning to Californians in late March, days before officials announced that this year’s Sierra snowpack contained historic volumes of water. After years of drought and restrictions on water use, a series of atmospheric rivers between January and March brought epic amounts of rain and snow to the parched state. Heavy precipitation and below-average temperatures meant that snow accumulated for months high in the Sierra Nevada mountains along California's eastern border. Read this full article here.

Extreme Heat Days are on the Rise Across the US: Where Sacramento, California stands

The Desert Review

As summer approaches and people prepare for outdoor sports, vacations, and other activities, hotter temperatures are settling in. While the season is typically welcomed for its sunshine and warmth, it's also becoming host to more extreme heat days. Across nearly 200 metros, the average number of extreme heat days in 2022 was 51, 23 more days than the 1970s average. The trend is a public health concern and a clear indication of climate change's impact on overall temperature trends. Read this full article here.

Parts of Northern California Could Top 100 Degrees this Week. How Long Will Heat Wave Last?

The Sacramento Bee

Summer heat is creeping back into cities across Northern California. Once it’s here, the chances of temperatures significantly cooling down anytime soon are slim. Northern California’s first triple-digit summer heat wave will hit the region this week, between Friday and Sunday. According to the National Weather Service, the widespread heat will be dangerous to anyone without proper hydration and cooling. Read this full article here.

Sacramento is Building Smoke Shelters to Act as Safe Spaces from Wildfires

CBS Sacramento

You've heard of storm shelters for tornadoes and hurricanes, but now, Sacramento is stepping up its game by creating smoke shelters for another type of natural disaster: severe wildfires. During wildfire season, the Sacramento region can have some of the worst air quality on the planet, and smoke is becoming a growing concern in California as officials plan for climate change. "The summers keep getting hotter and we end up with more dry vegetation," said Mark Loutzenhiser with the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District. Now, the city is taking part in a pilot program to help keep people safe during smoky days. More than a quarter-million dollars will go toward converting the Pannell Community Center into an emergency clean-air shelter. Read this full article here.

California’s 2020 Smoke Storm Was Horrific. What did the

State Learn?

The Washington Post

For weeks in 2020, toxic plumes of wildfire smoke painted California’s skies red and polluted the usually pristine air around the San Francisco Bay. The smoke was so dense that it blocked out the sun. A dark orange hue hung over everything, and particles from hundreds of miles away stung people’s eyes and throats for weeks. It was a terrifying turning point. Californians are used to navigating wildfire smoke every summer and fall. But in recent years, climate change has made fires more intense, frequent and long-lasting, and their smoke waves have become as frightening as the flames themselves. For many, 2020 was the wake-up call. Read this full article here

The Capital Region Climate Readiness Collaborative is a membership based collaborative network designed to promote greater climate change resilience planning coordination in the six-county Sacramento Region. The purpose of this collaborative network is to create a forum where leaders from government, academia, environmental and community groups, the business community, and labor can come together to exchange information, identify vulnerabilities and data gaps, leverage resources, and advance comprehensive solutions in an effort to create stronger, sustainable, and economically viable communities in the Capital Region.