News Flash • Nevada County Awarded $650,000 to Build Climate - Nevada County, CA (.gov)
News Flash • Nevada County Awarded $650,000 to Build Climate
Nevada County has been awarded $650,000 to work with key partners to help build climate resilience from the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research.
The money will be used to develop a climate collaborative of local organizations in Western Nevada County, sustain and enhance the Climate Transformation Alliance (CTA) in eastern Nevada County, and create a Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan. The plan will identify priority projects to enhance regional readiness for climate risks like wildfire and extreme weather events. It will also incorporate indigenous knowledge and prioritize climate-vulnerable populations such as older adults and those without broadband.
Grant partners include the Sierra Business Council, the Town of Truckee, Nevada City Rancheria Nisenan Tribe, Truckee Tahoe Airport District and Truckee Donner Public Utility District.
The project was catalyzed by Nevada County’s Board of Supervisors adopting Climate Resilience as an objective in February. “This is a huge opportunity to move this important work forward”, said 5th District Supervisor Hardy Bullock, who is also a member of the CTA and the Climate Resilience Ad Hoc committee along with Supervisor Heidi Hall. “We are so grateful for our partners who share in our commitment to the safety and sustainability of our community.”
Steve Frisch, president of the Sierra Business Council, said the award will be a catalyst for climate initiatives in the community. "At Sierra Business Council, the nonprofit facilitator of the Truckee Tahoe Climate Transformation Alliance, we believe in the power of collective action,” he said. “Being awarded this grant fuels our excitement and enthusiasm for collaborating with our partners, working to enhance the resilience of Nevada County and the Tahoe Region.”
The funding was part of $21.7 million awarded statewide as part of California’s Regional Resilience Grant for the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program.
"As climate change impacts intensify in California, affecting entire regions rather than isolated jurisdictions, the Regional Resilience Grant program is designed to support collaborative projects that align with the scale of climate impacts," emphasized Saharnaz Mirzazad, Executive Director of the State Planning and Policy Development branch within the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”