Last week, I served as a delegate to the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco. I walked away invigorated by the scores of bold pledges to decarbonize our economy. But it also left me wanting more.

This summer, the San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG) adopted a new plan for growth for the next 20 years — including how the region will invest $11.6 billion on transportation. 

The San Joaquin Valley is suffering now from some of the worst air quality in the state, as this summer's terrible wildfires fill the Valley with smoke. Climate change is creating warmer temperatures, which leads to more dry fuel and intense heat waves: this creates the conditions for wildfire season to start earlier, last longer, and affect larger areas. Transportation investments that lead to more cars on the road could exacerbate poor air quality in a region already suffering.

The Healthy Neighborhoods Collaborative, a coalition of regional advocates chaired by Catholic Charities Diocese of Stockton, and ClimatePlan weighed in on the SJCOG draft Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS)–a 20 year road map for transportation and land use in the Northern San Joaquin Valley.

Since ClimatePlan has now weighed in at the New York Times, it seems only fitting that we should dedicate a piece on our blog to the California bill that’s getting national attention: Senate Bill (SB) 827.

On March 22, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) met to adopt the updated greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets for each region of the state. The final SB 375 GHG reduction targets are below. 

For the four largest regions in the state: 

• The Bay Area's 2035 GHG reduction target was 15%, it's now 19%
• Sacramento's 2035 GHG reduction target was 16%, it's now 19%
• San Diego's 2035 GHG reduction target was 13%, it's now 19%
• Southern California's 2035 GHG reduction target was 13%, it's now 19%

For the regions in the Central Valley: 

• Fresno's 2035 GHG reduction target was 10%, it's now 13%
• Kern's 2035 GHG reduction target was 10%, it's now 15%
• King's 2035 GHG reduction target was 10%, it's now 13%
• Madera's 2035 GHG reduction target was 10%, it's now 16%
• Merced's 2035 GHG reduction target was 10%, it's now 14%
• San Joaquin's 2035 GHG reduction target was 10%, it's now 16%
• Stanislaus' 2035 GHG reduction target was 10%, it's now 16%
• Tulare's 2035 GHG reduction target was 10%, it's now 16%