Climate Pollution Reduction Grant
SCAG is working with partners throughout the region to identify strategies to reduce climate pollution through the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). In 2023, the U.S. EPA awarded planning grants to select metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) and states across the county, including three MSAs in the SCAG region:
Clean Cities Coalition
The Southern California Clean Cities Coalition is a U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) designated coalition in the Clean Cities and Communities partnership. The mission of the U.S. DOE’s Clean Cities and Communities partnership is to advance the nation’s economic, environmental, and energy security by supporting local decisions to adopt practices that reduce petroleum consumption.
- SCAG PEV Readiness Plan Document
- South Bay Cities Subregional PEV Deployment Plan
- Western Riverside Subregional PEV Deployment Plan
- PEV Readiness Plan - Introduction to PEVs
- PEV Readiness Plan - Chapters for Employers
- PEV Readiness Plan - Chapters for Building and Retail Owners
- PEV Readiness Plan - Chapters with Model Zoning and Building Codes
- PEV Readiness Plan - Chapters for Public Sector Planners
- Read more
Climate Change
The Global Warming Solutions Act
SCAG is addressing the climate change challenge through implementation of recent State legislation. In 2006, Assembly Bill No. 32 (AB 32), the California Global Warming Solutions Act, passed into law requiring that statewide GHG emissions be reduced to 1990 levels by 2020. This would represent reducing about 30 percent from business-as-usual emission levels projected for 2020. On December 11, 2008, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) adopted a comprehensive Scoping Plan outlining the state’s strategy to achieve the 2020 GHG emission reduction target.
HQTA Pilot Project
The 2016-2040 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy, adopted by SCAG in 2016, had anticipated a significant amount of new housing, population and employment growth to occur in High Quality Transit Areas (HQTAs). HQTAs, which feature frequent transit service or major transit stations, are located in communities throughout the SCAG region.
Open Space
Open Space & The Quality of Life
The concept of sustainability includes “Improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems.[1]” As our region grows and urbanizes, we are modifying the natural world and diminishing the availability of resources for future generations. While we continue to improve our quality of life, we must also create a sustainable framework for the future.
Water
Sustainability & Water
Additional water resources will be needed to meet the growing population and economy of the SCAG region. Sufficient water supplies are needed to meet these future water demands. In addition water quality and watershed management needs to be addressed.
Water supplies in the SCAG region come from a blend of local and imported sources. Water conservation, or efficiency, involves technological and behavioral changes that lower the demand for water.
Solid Waste
Waste Reduction & Global Climate Change
Solid waste reduction and recycling help address global climate change. The manufacture, distribution and use of products – as well as management of the resulting waste – all result in greenhouse gas emissions. Waste prevention and recycling reduce greenhouse gases associated with these activities by reducing methane emissions, saving energy, and increasing forest carbon sequestration.
SCAG Sustainability Awards
The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is committed to highlighting excellence in sustainable planning and development projects in Southern California. These projects are integral to the goals of the Connect SoCal Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy, and promoting a more mobile, sustainable and prosperous region.