Act Now on County of Santa Barbara's Climate Action Plan
Tell the County To Include Oil and Gas Emissions
On Tuesday, August 27, 2024, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will consider adopting the final draft Climate Action Plan (CAP). The proposed plan lays out local strategies to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. Strategies cover energy use, travel and land use, vegetation, waste reduction, and water conservation measures.
Last year, CEC reviewed and advised updates to the draft CAP. We are happy to report that the County strengthened many measures we requested, including increased electric vehicles and chargers, building electrification, and climate-smart agriculture.
Although CEC supports the County’s efforts to take climate action, we do not feel the plan goes far enough. The County’s proposed 2030 Climate Action Plan challenges the community to cut our emissions in half but leaves out the one industry most responsible for climate change and pollution — the oil and gas industry. Read the letter CEC and 20+ organizations sent to the County Board of Supervisors here.
Call to Action
Join us to tell the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors that this Climate Action Plan must include emissions from oil and gas facilities. Attend the Board meeting and provide public comment, Tuesday, August 27, 2024 at the Board Chambers in Santa Maria (Joseph Centeno Betteravia, Government Administration Building, Board Hearing Room 511 East Lakeside Parkway, Santa Maria). Meeting information will be posted here.
Can’t make it in person? Provide public comment
Via Email: Email the Board of Supervisors (sbcob@countyofsb.org) by August 27 with the message to fix the Santa Barbara County Climate Action Plan. Be sure to use the following email subject line: August 27 BOS meeting on the 2030 Climate Action Plan.
Over Zoom: Access the Zoom link in the August 27 meeting agenda packet posted here.
Talking Points
Share your appreciation and why this matters to you:
Show your appreciation to County staff and elected officials for developing a Climate Action Plan that makes meaningful climate progress for our community.
Share in your own words why climate action matters to you, your children, and community.
Urge the Santa Barbara County Supervisors to:
Include emissions from fossil fuel facilities in the Climate Action Plan’s greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory and emissions reduction measures. This amendment is necessary to meet our climate goals.
Emphasize that:
To comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the County must tally all pollution from all activities — not pick and choose and exclude oil and gas emissions.
Ventura and Los Angeles Counties count oil and gas industry emissions in their GHG inventory. Santa Barbara County does not.
A single oil operation could erase all of the County residents’ hard work to reduce carbon emissions and pollution. The progress we’ve made by switching to electric cars and solar would be undone by leaving out this one industry’s pollution from the Climate Action Plan.
Through its permitting authority, the County has more control over oil and gas industry pollution and emissions than other emissions sources. We need to take every opportunity we have to reduce GHG emissions by 50 percent by 2030.
July was California's hottest month ever. Our county is vulnerable to extreme heat, wildfires, drought, and other climate impacts. We must do our part to reverse climate change.
Air pollution from oil and gas facilities causes asthma, respiratory illness, heart disease, and cancer. Drawing down this pollution will save lives.
According to the UN International Panel on Climate Change, we must take bold climate action in the next few years to avoid the worst effects of climate change. Local Climate Action Plans – like ours – should meaningfully draw down carbon emissions and pollution, but that only works if we are transparent in tallying emissions and require the most polluting industries to do their fair share.
Learn More
Real Climate Plans Don't Give Big Oil a Free Pass (Santa Barbara Independent article)
20+ Organizations ask Santa Barbara County to include oil and gas emissions in the climate plan (sign-on letter)
Climate Plans Must Include Complete GHG Inventory to be CEQA-qualified (legal letter)