San Benito County Climate Roadmap

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San Benito County developed the Climate Roadmap with funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Roadmap focuses on local strategies to advance climate sustainability and resilience in San Benito County and aligns with the regional Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) developed with Santa Clara County. The Roadmap outlines specific measures and actions to accelerate climate action in the unincorporates areas of the county. These efforts aim to promote sustainable growth, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support a transition away from fossil fuels.

Following more than a year of community engagement and technical analysis, the Roadmap was adopted by the San Benito County Board of Supervisors on April 28, 2026. A recording of the meeting can be viewed here.

Questions?

For questions related to the CCAP or Roadmap, please email: CCAP@sanbenitocountyca.gov

Support for Climate Resiliency in San Benito County

We are already seeing the effects of climate change in San Benito County, including heat waves, drought, and wildfires. The County is taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build a climate-resilient San Benito County to protect our residents, businesses, and natural and agricultural lands from the impacts of climate change. San Benito County and neighboring Santa Clara County are making strides together to address climate change in our communities through a regional planning effort through the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG ) program. In addition, the Monterey Bay Area Regional Climate Project Working Group (RCPWG), which consists of the several counties and cities, including San Benito County, has helped secure funding for the implementation of regionally beneficial climate mitigation and adaptation projects and programs.

CPRG

Funding Overview: EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG)

The CPRG program provides $5 billion in grants to states, local governments, tribes, and territories to develop and implement ambitious plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollution. Authorized under Section 60114 of the Inflation Reduction Act, this two-phase program provides $250 million for noncompetitive planning grants, and approximately $4.6 billion for competitive implementation grants.

Project Scope

San Benito County and neighboring Santa Clara County are working together to address harmful air pollution, combat climate change, and bring in funding to support our communities. Through the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Program (CPRG), we successfully secured a grant to create ambitious plans focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality, for all communities throughout San Benito County and Santa Clara County.

Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP)

The PCAP includes a regional greenhouse gas emissions inventory, and high-impact, near-term priority projects that directly benefit both our communities and the environment. We collaborated with public agencies and local community-based organizations (CBOs) throughout the MSA region to coordinate efforts and gather valuable input. The PCAP is San Benito County’s first dedicated climate action planning document.

Here is the finalized PCAP for the Santa Clara and San Benito County MSA (metropolitan Statistical Area), completed March 1, 2024.

Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP)

Taking our commitment further, San Benito and Santa Clara Counties created a long-term comprehensive plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce pollution, and benefit our communities through increased efficiency and job creation.

The CCAP was submitted to the EPA in December of 2025 and has since been finalized. Community engagement was essential to inform the strategies brought forward under the CCAP, which includes strategies to sequester carbon in our natural and working lands, electrify and improve resiliency in our built environment, and increase pollution-free transportation options.

Project Calendar

July 2025: Draft CCAP due to EPA. We delivered the draft CCAP to the EPA on July 11, 2025, presenting our regional strategy for climate action across San Benito and Santa Clara Counties.

Spring-Fall 2025: Community feedback on draft Roadmap and final list of strategies to reduce emissions, build community support and input on long-term implementation.

November-December 2025: Public comment period for Roadmap.

December 2025: Final CCAP due to EPA.

April 28, 2026: Board of Supervisors adopted the climate Roadmap.

RCPWG

Members

San Benito County
Santa Cruz County
Monterey County
Capitola
Carmel-by-the-Sea
City of Santa Cruz
Salinas
Watsonville
Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG)
Ecology Action

Objectives

Secure funding for regional grants that individual members may not have the ability to secure on their own;
Effectively and equitably allocate funding for ambitious climate action and resilience projects;
Establish more effective collaboration mechanisms to align policies and projects to best address our region’s most pressing climate equity challenges; and
Activate working groups to support deeper coordination amongst RCPWG members and non-member agencies, foundations, and nonprofits to advance specific project priorities.

Funding Secured

As part of its mission to collaborate among groups and organizations in the Monterey Bay Area region, including Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Monterey Counties, to develop, prioritize, secure funding for, effectively and equitably advocate for, and implement regionally beneficial climate mitigation and adaptation projects and programs, the RCPWG has secured or applied for the following funding:

$15,000 award from the Urban Sustainability Directors’ Network Emergent Learning Fund
$100,000 award from Central Coast Community Energy
$250,000 awarded from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Resilience Regional Challenge Grant
$649,335 award from the California Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation’s Regional Resilience Grant Program
$2 million award from the Department of Energy’s Weatherization Grant Program
$14,346,751 application to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Charging and Fueling
15,713,981 application to the California Air Resources Board Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program

To find out more about impact of the awards secured by the RCPWG see their projects page here.

Roadmap

The RCPWG is in the process of developing a roadmap that aims to coordinate funding, prioritize adaptation projects, and build local capacity through an equitable, collaborative approach that includes local governments, community organizations, and environmental justice partners. The project will develop an inventory of existing adaptation activities, identify and prioritize regional climate resilience measures, prepare detailed implementation plans for priority projects, and create both short- and long-term funding strategies. The completed roadmap will provide a practical framework for securing grants, supporting project implementation, and establishing sustainable governance and funding structures to address increasing climate risks such as flooding, wildfires, extreme heat, and severe storms while ensuring that underserved communities have a meaningful role in decision-making and benefit from resilience investments.

San Benito County, CA

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