Santa Barbara County releases Climate Action Plan 2030 draft

By ANNIKA BAHNSEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

Santa Barbara County’s Community Services Department released a draft of the 2030 Climate Action Plan in order to “improve the quality of life and prioritize social equity.” The CAP was created in order to develop a plan to reduce carbon emissions in the community by 50% by 2030.

Sustainability Division Chief Ashley Watkins commented on the details of the CAP. “Achieving a 50% reduction is very ambitious. Departments across the county will be responsible for implementing specific actions, but we won’t achieve our goals without strong participation from residents, local businesses and other stakeholders.”

Specifically, a couple of items the county wants to achieve within this effort is to provide safer opportunities for bikers and walkers, improve air quality, enhance energy resilience, preserve open spaces and make buildings more efficient.

In order to include the community within the process, the county will be hosting three public workshops to allow residents to view and engage with the CAP and the staff directly involved. These workshops will cover what the CAP is as well as develop key strategies and actions for the community. Both of the workshops will have a presentation at the start of the meeting followed by an open house in order for people to learn more about the CAP.

There will be two in-person workshops on March 1 at the Santa Barbara Public LIbrary at 12:30 p.m. and at the Santa Maria Public Library at 5 p.m. There will also be an online workshop held over Zoom on March 7 at noon. There will be Spanish translations at all of these workshops.

Ms. Watkins finished with this statement: “The CAP isn’t just the county’s plan, it’s the community’s plan.”

Registration and information for the events can be found at countyofsb.org/oneclimate. email: abahnsen@newspress.com