The Oakland Climate Action Coalition is a cross-sector coalition of community-based organizations, environmental experts and advocates, labor unions, and green businesses working for an equitable and just Oakland Energy and Climate Action Plan for the city's most disadvantaged populations. View all members of the Coalition.
Update: Hundreds Rally for a Fair and Just Oakland Climate Action Plan
On Tuesday, March 30, as the Oakland City Council was taking its first look at the Oakland Climate Action Plan, members of the Oakland Climate Action Coalition filled the steps of City Hall to demand a strong and fair plan. This is the first step to turning the Plan proposal that we've worked so hard to craft into official Oakland policy -- and for Oakland
to have the best plan in the nation to fight global warming! Check out an audio slide show of the event:
Sign the Petition for Local, Community-Based Global Warming Solutions!
We're advocating for an Oakland Energy and Climate Action plan that embodies these goals:
Through a collaborative process with a broad range of partners and stakeholders including those often left out of policy debates., the Oakland Climate Action Coalition has developed recommendations for Oakland's Energy and Climate Action Plan. Read a summary of our recommendations or download a PDF with the complete proposal.
To help make sure that the City Council knows that Oakland is ready for decisive action on climate change, sign our petition or download a petition sheet and ask your friends to sign.
Big Success! Community Convergence for Climate Action Draws over 400 people!
The Oakland Climate Action Coalition held workshops throughout Oakland to raise awareness about the Energy and Climate Action Plan and bring ideas from everyone to the community to Oakland City Council.
Victory! Oakland Adopts Strong Reduction Targets
The Oakland Climate Action
Coalition pushed for and won some of the strongest Green House Gas emission
goals of any city in the country. Given the guidance and support of the
Oakland Climate Action Coalition, Oakland City Council unanimously approved
reducing Oakland emissions to 36% below 2005 level by 2020 and to 85%
below 2005 levels by 2050 thus making Oakland a national leader
in climate change goals. The Oakland Climate Action Coalition also pushed
for and won setting mandatory benchmarks to insure the city is making
yearly progress toward our climate goals.
About the Oakland Climate Action Coalition
We support the City of Oakland's commitment to take action on
climate change. We believe that we can achieve significant carbon
reductions while also maintaining a vibrant local economy and improving
the quality of life for all Oakland residents.
Update: The Oakland Climate Action Coalition releases specific policy recommendations for the Energy and Climate Action Plan.
We collectively propose and urge the following targets, goals, and actions for the Oakland Energy and Climate Action Plan:
Here are four goals that our coalition urges as fundamental criteria in the development of the city's Energy and Climate Action Plan.
Clean Up Air Pollution: Reduce air pollution in communities that are disproportionately affected by poor air quality.
Create Local Green-Collar Jobs: Invest in green industries to create quality, family wage jobs, such as energy efficiency retrofits, home weatherization, green construction, public transportation, recycling and materials reuse, urban agriculture, etc. Use local and targeted hire to ensure full access to these jobs for communities facing the highest unemployment and poverty rates, and provide job training and other community benefits.
Save Money for Residents: Reduce water, energy and food costs, and ensure accessible, affordable and safe public transportation to low-income families and communities of color which are impacted most by rising costs of living related to climate change.
Improve Public Health: Make public health improvements a priority outcome for the Energy and Climate Action Plan. Prioritize actions that improve public health (such as improving air quality, creating quality jobs, and providing accessible, affordable and safe public transportation) and de-prioritize actions that would have a negative impact on public health.
Action Areas:
Here are six categories of actions that can meet the goals above, to "minimize the pain and maximize the gain" for Oakland's disadvantaged communities.
Land Use and Transportation: Reduce vehicle miles traveled, especially for fossil-fuel vehicles. Invest in alternative travel modes such as public transportation, walking and biking. Ensure that public transit is accessible, affordable and safe for transit-dependent populations. Modify and update zoning to provide for green business development and to create green-collar jobs.
Building and Energy Use: Increase energy efficiency in our homes, businesses and public buildings. ‘Green' the energy we consume -- maximize the procurement of renewable energy as a percentage of the city's energy use. Maximize access to the benefits of renewable energy, green construction, and energy efficiency for low income and vulnerable communities.
Consumption and Solid Waste: Make the best and highest use of solid waste. Maximize reuse and recycling of materials. Reduce consumption of goods made from non-recycled or non-biodegradable materials. Develop and implement green purchasing and procurement guidelines for all city and city-funded agencies. Ensure disadvantaged communities benefit equally from these actions.
Food and Urban Agriculture/ Forestry: Significantly increase the consumption of local healthy food, reduce the consumption of carbon-intensive foods and expand urban forestry initiatives. Ensure food security for communities that lack grocery stores, healthy food and green, open spaces.
Community Engagement: Launch a public engagement campaign designed for populations that are traditionally left out of planning processes such as these. Conduct this process in full partnership with community-based organizations, business, labor, environmental organizations, and public educational institutions.
Climate Change Adaptation Planning: Develop and adopt a climate change adaptation plan that fully funds adaptation strategies to manage unavoidable climate change impacts. This plan should including disaster preparation, protective infrastructure siting to guard against sea level rise, health insurance and evacuation plans. This plan should also provide for long-term food security, water security and energy security, as well as public health needs for Oakland's most vulnerable communities.
