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Napa Regional Climate Action and Adaptation Plan presented to Calistoga council; public workshop set for Sept. 17
Summary
Consultant Eric de Kock briefed the council on the draft Napa Regional Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, outlining mitigation and adaptation measures and estimated order-of-magnitude costs; county staff scheduled a public open-house style workshop for Sept. 17 with Spanish-language materials available online.
A draft regional climate action and adaptation plan that aims to coordinate greenhouse gas reductions and resilience measures across Napa County was presented to the Calistoga City Council on Sept. 2.
Eric de Kock, project director for the Napa Regional Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (RCAP), summarized the plan’s mitigation and adaptation strategies, described countywide greenhouse-gas reduction targets and said the draft includes both measures to reduce emissions and actions to adapt to increased wildfire, extreme heat and flooding. De Kock said the RCAP offers a regional pathway toward deep decarbonization and resilience and that jurisdictions can adopt the regional plan as their local climate plan.
Why it matters
Council members and community speakers said the RCAP could help small, resource-constrained jurisdictions coordinate staffing, financing and implementation and could steer investments that reduce wildfire risk, improve energy resilience and lower vehicle miles traveled.
Key points from the presentation and discussion
- Scope and targets: De Kock said the plan models reductions in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent and includes specific sector measures for buildings, transportation, solid waste, water and agriculture. He noted the challenge of electrifying existing buildings but said the region could reach aggressive goals with sustained effort.
- Cost estimates: De Kock flagged that some of the plan’s order-of-magnitude cost estimates are large and uncertain. He cited a countywide estimate of “approximately $450,000,000” to retrofit roughly 50,000 buildings and said “over $400,000,000 of that is rebate or incentive or financing cost that probably the property owner can incur,” language he used to describe how much of the cost would be borne by incentives or private owners.
- Implementation and governance: De Kock and county staff said implementation will require prioritization, regional coordination among the Climate Action Committee, individual jurisdictions and a staff working group. County staff and the consultant emphasized that the plan is a compendium of options and that jurisdictions will need to prioritize actions with the highest cost-effectiveness.
- Public engagement: The RCAP team opened a 60-day public comment period. County staff said they will hold an open-house style workshop in Calistoga on Sept. 17 with printed boards and interactive feedback stations; materials are available online in Spanish.
Public comment and council reaction
Chris Benz of Napa Climate Now spoke in support of the regional approach and urged the city to keep the RCAP a high priority. Council members thanked the presenters and asked about next steps; one councilor noted that prioritizing a smaller set of high-impact measures would make implementation tractable.
Next steps
The RCAP team said public comments received during the 60-day period will inform revisions to a final draft, which the team expects to bring to county and city councils for consideration in spring of next year.
