Climate Change

Global warming and the effects of climate change pose great risks for Californians. Climate change will result in more frequent and more intense forest fires, more air pollution and deadly heat waves, a significant reduction in the snowpack and state water supplies, sea level rise and erosion along California's long coastline, and billions of dollars in damage to our agricultural, tourism, recreation, and other industries. These impacts have the potential to be hugely disruptive to how local governments operate.

OPR provides tools and guidance for local governments to address climate change as follows:

• Publication of technical advisories and regulatory guidelines;
• Coordination of State online resources that local governments can access to understand the potential impacts of climate change on their jurisdiction and how to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions;
• Ongoing creation and support of a technical assistance and best practices learning network for local governments.
• "Climate Changers" is an innovative video initiative to share hot lessons and cool solutions. We invite you to browse through our video library and to subscribe to our YouTube page.

Please refer to the Planning Resources for additional information on tools and resources available for local government climate change planning. For a further discussion of the impacts of climate change in California and the State’s efforts related to climate change research, mitigation, adaptation, and joint action, see the 2010 Climate Action Team report to the Governor and Legislature (December 2010).