SANTA MONICA—On Tuesday, May 28, the Santa Monica’s City Council authorized the Climate Action & Adaption Plan commonly known as CAAP. The CAAP is a plan to help the city achieve an 80 percent cut in carbon emissions by 2030. The cut would aid Santa Monica’s community to reach the goal of carbon neutrality by the year 2050 or sooner.

According to a press release from the city of Santa Monica, the Climate Action & Adaption Plan is a community plan to reduce carbon emissions and to help Santa Monica become climate resilient. The CAAP includes major investments and simple ways residents can contribute to make a difference for the environment. The plan will strengthen existing initiatives to enhance community well-being, transportation, public health, smart city innovation, and social equity.

“The Climate Action and Adaptation Plan is the roadmap for Santa Monica’s next decade of environmental leadership,” said Mayor Gleam Davis. “This is a practical and ambitious plan to achieve water self-sufficiency by 2023, zero waste by 2030, and carbon-neutrality by 2050 or sooner. Continuing our legacy of local climate action is essential to the health and vitality of our planet, people, and economy. Santa Monicans set the bar for local stewardship of our planet and I’m confident we will continue to do so with this plan to guide us.”

The CAAP will cause significant shifts in Santa Monica’s economy, transportation structure, and buildings. Transportation and building structures will shift away from fossil-fuel use and will be powered by clean renewable energy. In the past two years, there has been an increasing momentum and changes in waste management technologies, energy services, ride hauling, and in the development of autonomous vehicles. Many of these advancements could propel carbon reduction efforts.

The Climate Action section focuses on eight objectives in three sectors:

  • Zero Net Carbon Buildings
  • Zero Waste
  • Sustainable Mobility

The Climate Adaptation section focuses on community resilience to climate change through four sectors:

  • Climate Ready Community
  • Water Self-Sufficiency
  • Coastal Flooding Preparedness
  • Low Carbon Food & Ecosystems

The Santa Monica City Council established “Climate Change” as a main priority for the fiscal years of 2019 through 2021, of which the CAAP is a primary component. “Mobility and Access” is a priority as well because vehicle transportation is the main contributor of carbon emissions in the city of Santa Monica.

Staff estimates that the incentive will cost a total of $800 million over the next decade and council has already approved $383 million to support the CAAP. The CAAP was designed by the Santa Monica community, businesses, and climate leaders.

“Meeting the climate crisis head on reaches beyond protecting our coastal community and doing the right thing for the planet,” says Dean Kubani, the City of Santa Monica’s Chief Sustainability Officer. “The financial ramifications of doing nothing are catastrophic and credit rating agencies like Moody’s now factor climate resilience when rating a community. Our investments will protect our long-term financial health and ensure our historic AAA bond rating.”

For more details about the Climate Action & Adaption Plan, visit smgov.net/climate.