Humboldt County supervisors unanimously approved a regional climate action plan, bringing cities and the county together on strategies to reduce carbon emissions.
At Tuesday's meeting, Humboldt County Board of Supervisors Chair Mike Wilson said the county needs to take action to address climate change.
“I think we imagine sometimes that climate change is static — that if we do nothing, everything stays the same — but it's not," he said. "It's dynamic. It's moving forward. It's becoming worse, and we need to adjust for that. And everything we do will have a cost.”
Most of the strategies focus on transportation, the largest contributor to climate change in the county. That includes prioritizing public transportation, biking and walkable communities. The plan also calls for expanding access to electric vehicle charging to make adoption easier.
Planning Director John Ford said the goal is to capitalize on what’s already happening.
“People are converting to electric cars," said Ford. "Good things are happening. Gas sales are going down.”
He said that may be due to economic factors as much as any climate policy.
County supervisors also approved carbon-emission thresholds for future developments. If a project exceeds the thresholds, it will need to add carbon-saving measures, such as weatherization or access to public transportation.
The thresholds were a much-debated topic at the supervisors' meeting. Consultants proposed higher thresholds than those of other cities and counties. The planning commission recommended making the standard stricter by reducing the proposed thresholds by 25%, while county staff recommended a 50% reduction.
Supervisors unanimously approved the climate action plan, adopting thresholds that were 35% lower than the consultants' recommendation.
County staff said the stricter thresholds would help developers prepare for the state's goal of carbon neutrality by 2045.
This climate action plan does not create new requirements. Instead, it outlines smaller actions that county and city staff will focus on in the coming years.
The plan will be updated in 2030 to align with California's 2045 goal.
