Sacramento County and the Design 4 Active Sacramento Coalition (D4AS, WALKSacramento) will receive the International Excellence Award from the NYC Center for Active Design, the founders of Active Design. Active Design activates and embeds health into land uses, transportation, and community design for improved health outcomes and climate resiliency. The award recognizes this cross-sector team and their work with the County in embedding health and sustainability into the County's Zoning Code and Design Guidelines adopted by the Board of Supervisors in July 2015. WALKSacramento and D4AS have been working at all scales; across the county, region, and state providing technical assistance to local governments and communities to improve residents' health through the way we plan, design and build our communities. Contact Kirin Kumar (kkumar@walksacramento.org) or Judy Robinson at Sacramento County (Robinsonju@saccounty.net) to learn more. ( Link)

Photo: Eric Risberg / AP Photo

In addition to the landmark SB 32 - which sets a target of reducing California's GHG emissions 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 - this legislative session saw the passage of another critical climate law that will require the state to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs). While carbon dioxide accounts for 84% of California's GHG emissions, SLCPs such as methane, hydrofluorocarbons, and black carbon (soot) are responsible for 44% of the total warming effect. Thus, the emissions reductions required by SB 1383 will have an immediate impact in helping to slow the rate of global warming, while also delivering health and air quality benefits across California. ( San Diego Union-Tribune)

Thirty-one countries formally signed up for the Paris deal at the UN general assembly in New York on September 21, making it increasingly likely the Paris Climate Agreement would be fully ratified by the end of the year. New signees include Brazil, the world's seventh largest emitter of greenhouse gases, Mexico, the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, and countries highly vulnerable to sea level rise, such as Kiribati and Bangladesh. The pledges mean that a total of 60 countries, representing 47.7% of global emissions, have now formally joined the Paris agreement. A minimum of 55 nations representing at least 55% of global emissions are required for the deal to come into force. Both UN General Secretary Ban-Ki Moon and US secretary of state John Kerry predict that the agreement will be fully implemented within months. ( Guardian)

It has been nearly a month since our last CRC newsletter, so here is a quick run-down of some news you may have missed.

Four Twenty Seven's new policy brief provides a detailed analysis of California's budget on climate adaptation and resilience, delving into how the state is trying to make good on its policy commitments by providing enough funding and guidance to build resilience. ( 427)

This policy white paper, from our partner climate adaptation collaborative Sierra CAMP, synthesizes biophysical research and the policy expertise of the Sierra Nevada region to make recommendations for the state's 2017 update of its climate adaptation plan Safeguarding California: Reducing Climate Risk. The paper examines climate impacts on the Sierra Nevada region and analyzes the opportunities for climate mitigation and adaptation. ( Link)

EPA's new 2016 edition of Climate Change Indicators in the U.S. shows compelling and clear evidence of long-term changes to our climate, and highlights impacts on human health and the environment in the US and globally. The report contains observed trend data on 37 climate indicators, including seven new ones, and a feature on climate and health.  (  US EPA)

On September 21st, the President signed a Presidential Memorandum (PM) on Climate Change and National Security, establishing a policy that the impacts of climate change must be considered in the development of national security-related doctrine, policies, and plans. Additionally, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released a report from the National Intelligence Council identifying pathways through which climate change will likely pose significant national security challenges for the United States over the next two decades, including threatening the stability of other countries. ( Link)

The National Adaptation Forum is now accepting proposals for symposia, training sessions, and working groups that reflect the best thinking in the adaptation field, informed by theory, research, and practice, on key subjects related to the focal topics and cross-cutting themes. Deadline: September 30, 2016. View instructions and apply today.

Each year, the Federal Transit Administration in partnership with Smart Growth America offers free technical assistance to communities to develop tools, guidance, and other resources for enhancing transit-oriented development (TOD) within transit corridors or around a public transportation station, and in economically distressed communities. Any unit or subdivision of state, regional, local, or tribal governments with an active federally funded transit capital project are eligible to apply. Deadline: Friday, October 7, 5pm. ( More information)

The Local Government Commission - in partnership with the Institute for Local Government and ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability through the Statewide Energy Efficiency Collaborative - is recruiting to fill the Statewide Local Government Energy Efficiency Best Practices Coordinator position (Local Government Energy Coordinator). The scope of work will focus on assisting local governments to meet goals within the California long-term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan. The Local Government Energy Coordinator facilitates a statewide focus both in gathering exemplary policies and practices, and tracking progress on government facility and community energy use, retrofits, and strategic plan metrics. ( Link)

Following the Quarterly Meeting, the CRC will visit the  UC Davis Pavement Research Center on  Thursday, October 27th from  9:30-11:30am to learn about their exciting research on cool pavements. The tour will cover an overview of their research, life cycle analysis work, and studies around permeable pavements and other related research. We will also have the chance to tour their pavement garden, where they are currently collecting data on cool pavements. ( Register)

This is an opportunity to gather with representatives from local government, business, health and environmental communities to hear about important air quality topics affecting our region. The Director of Community Health and Outreach from Dignity Health will speak about community health needs assessments and how they are used to benefit focus communities, and Valley Vision will share regional findings from the 2016 Community Health Needs Assessment and how they are connected to air quality. ( Register)

Join ARCCA to learn about the U.S. Global Change Research Program's scientific assessment on the impacts of climate change on human health in the U.S. Developed by 100+ experts, this report represents a significant improvement in scientific confidence in the link between climate change and a broad range of public health threats. The webinar will highlight overarching messages, key findings, and an overview of publicly accessible materials. ( Register)

ecoAmerica's research team will present a comprehensive overview of their brand new Let's Talk Health and Climate guide, a resource designed to help you speak to the health and healthcare community about our changing climate. This guide helps health professionals engage productively with their peers and patients on climate change by drawing attention to research-tested words, phrases, and language that resonates most with this particular audience. During the webinar, you will learn about our research-based findings, key messages, and tips for designing your own effective climate communications. ( Register)

Join us for an interactive, discussion-based workshop to better understand the financial and organizational barriers that local governments in California face in implementing adaptation strategies. This workshop will provide opportunities to learn about financing needs in California, practical opportunities for funding adaptation, what institutional and organizational barriers hinder work on adaptation, and how to move your organization to higher levels of capacity. We encourage you to attend this workshop if you work in, with, or for local governments on adaptation research, planning, financing, funding and/or implementation. There are also workshops scheduled for the Sierra Nevada (Truckee, Oct. 26), Central Valley (Tulare, Sept. 29), and the North Coast (Eureka, Oct. 25). ( Register)

The CRC is a program of the Local Government Commission.