Creating Effective Climate Action Plans in Orange County
Abstract
Climate change is a complex issue that affects individuals all around the world, and will continue to do so unless it is stopped. From the exacerbation of heat waves to the threats posed by rising sea levels, cities and populations are now more vulnerable to the increased health burden, environmental degradation and widening socio-economic inequalities globally. Southern California is especially vulnerable to these problems, but there are organizations working to challenge the crisis. With the help of University of California Irvine professor and climate change expert Dr. Richard Matthew, as well as Climate Action Campaign Policy Director Ayn Craciun, the team investigated how Orange County is impacted by climate change, how Climate Action Plans (CAPs) are designed, and what makes them successful. This research project examines the current CAPs in place at various cities in Orange County and how effective they are in addressing the fundamental sustainability concerns of the cities through accessible policy and resources. The team proposes a method of monitoring these CAPs through a grading system, a framework that determines whether a city has adopted a CAP, and whether those who have are implementing it in an adequate manner. This is explored in the Introduction and Proposed Solution sections, with an emphasis on Irvine and Santa Ana. Research on these cities in the realm of climate change as well as the issue on a large scale are analyzed in the Literature Review. The complexity of budget planning and disbursement is investigated in the Cost-Benefit Analysis.
