Millions in climate funding could flow to California cities and counties over the next decade — but only if they can find the time and resources to apply for it.
Only around half of the state’s local governments have a codified climate action plan and the majority don’t employ a full-time staffer focused on climate issues, according to a survey released today by the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment at the University of California, Berkeley; the Institute for Local Government; and the nonprofit Next 10. Researchers received responses from 142 cities and 33 counties, representing around a third of California’s municipalities.
The lack of staffing and resources creates a barrier for many jurisdictions — especially those with smaller populations and lower median household incomes — that hope to compete in competitive state and federal grant programs. Nearly half of the cities and counties surveyed said they’d need assistance identifying and applying for available funds.
While some funding through laws like the federal Inflation Reduction Act will flow to local governments automatically, the majority is divvied out through competitive processes. That’s a major problem for California lawmakers, who are banking on cities and counties electrifying their infrastructure and transportation systems as the state aims to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2045.
“As evident by the survey findings, many of California’s local governments currently lack the staff capacity necessary to first access critical funding for climate planning and then implement strategic planning efforts,” Hanna Payne, co-author of the report and climate policy research fellow at UC Berkeley, said in a statement.