CLCV Education Fund and Natural Resources Defense Council release “Communities Tackle Global Warming: A Guide to SB 375”

The California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council released an authoritative report in June 2009 that provides a blueprint for how communities can tackle global warming. The report is a guide to California’s Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act, or SB 375. This landmark bill is the nation’s first state law to link transportation and land use planning to address global warming.

California made history in 2008 by passing SB 375, authored by State Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg and co-sponsored by the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

According to the report’s authors:“This groundbreaking measure shows us that where we live and how we get to work, go about our daily business, and take our kids to school matters a great deal in the fight against climate change. In fact, household transportation in California is the single-largest and the fastest-growing source of global warming pollution in the state. Locating housing closer to jobs and transportation choices and creating walkable communities can reduce commute times and cut millions of tons of global warming pollution, while improving quality of life.”

But, as the authors of this authoritative guide caution, passage of the law (while an enormous achievement) was just the first step. The successful implementation of SB 375 depends on the actions of government agencies, environmentalists, developers, and local governments, among others.

Many around the nation are watching California as the state begins to implement this legislation. The success of California’s efforts is already influencing federal policies; for example, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) includes a structure that tracks SB 375 by requiring regions to prepare greenhouse gas reduction plans, in coordination with their regional transportation plans. Additionally, policymakers in several other states have introduced legislation modeled on SB 375.

Sustainable development advocates have an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate that this planning process can work in many kinds of communities. In other words, if you care about the environment and smart growth, read this guide. After all, according to the authors: “SB 375 provides a new planning paradigm, putting California on the path to a new, more sustainable prosperity as well as a cleaner environment.”

Communities Tackle Global Warming: A Guide to SB 375 was written by Tom Adams, President of the Board of CLCV, and Amanda Eaken and Ann Notthoff of NRDC. Read the full report here.

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