Jurisdictions and organizations throughout California and the nation are adopting resolutions declaring a climate emergency. California has recently set a goal to be carbon neutral by 2045...and local governments are not prepared to meet the challenge - as much as they have tried. Less than 50% of cities have a climate action plan, and if they do, the plans are characterized by a long list of unprioritized strategies with limited impact on actual emissions. To meet the State's goal, cities must dramatically and rapidly adopt policies that fundamentally change how we design, manage, and live in cities.

​

Local governments and businesses need assistance and focus to help build on this crisis and translate it into real change - that means finding the right steps to get from today's business as usual to systemic change. The RAPID Climate Action Network has identified the central strategies we need to address climate change and a feasible process to achieve action, leveraging this momentum, providing a sense of purpose and impact to practitioners and local governments, while enabling the development of the long-term systemic changes that must also be enacted.