Costa Mesa Council Adopts First Climate Action and Adaptation Plan: 106 Actions Toward 2030 and 2045 Goals, With Safety Element and Environmental Justice Policies Updated
In Costa Mesa, a city in Orange County, California, the City Council voted 5-2 on the evening of October 20 to adopt a package headlined by the city's first Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP), together with updates to the General Plan Safety Element and Environmental Justice policies. The council also made three edits to the plan: adding shade and urban cooling measures for areas unsuitable for trees, strengthening support for the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program, and adding actions addressing localized flooding.
The CAAP is the city's first comprehensive climate strategy. It lists 106 implementation actions and prioritizes a set of '20 Actions in 2 Years,' in support of the city's 2030 and 2045 greenhouse gas reduction targets. The city's 2023 inventory puts community emissions at about 865,000 metric tons of CO2e, with on-road transportation accounting for 63 percent and building energy for 31 percent. The plan spans on-road transportation, energy and buildings, water and wastewater, solid waste, natural and urban lands, off-road equipment, municipal operations, and people and community resilience, including promoting walking and biking, increasing public transportation use, and reducing building energy demand.
The Safety Element update incorporates the latest hazard data and the city's adopted Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, covering hazard identification, emergency preparedness and climate adaptation. On environmental justice, six census tracts are mapped as EJ communities, covering much of the Westside and the area around the Fairgrounds and TeWinkle Park; the policies aim to reduce pollution exposure, expand access to healthy food and essential services, and increase public participation in decision-making. The documents set policy direction and do not themselves authorize specific project spending; individual actions remain subject to future funding. (Compiled from City of Costa Mesa CAAP documents and the October 20 council meeting record)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Costa Mesa 地标 Segerstrom 音乐厅实景。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons 文件 Ocpac-segerstrom-pano1.jpg，Buchanan-Hermit 摄，CC BY 授权
