Sustainability and Climate Action Community Engagement

Palo Alto has long been a leader in sustainability, adopting one of the first municipal climate action plans in the U.S. in 2007, delivering carbon neutral electricity, and partnering with our community to develop a vision for an innovative, carbon neutral city of the future. Poised to take the next step as a climate and sustainability leader - with one of the boldest municipal climate goals in the country - Palo Alto is on the right path to achieve a prosperous, resilient city for all residents, thanks in part to the contributions of hundreds of community members.

In September 2020, we launched a webinar series to highlight various topics addressed in the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP) update. In 2021, we launched an on-line survey to help inform climate and sustainability conversations taking place with the S/CAP Ad Hoc Committee and City Council. The full list of engagement opportunities and recordings from completed webinars can be found below. Webinar recordings are also available on the Sustainability Playlist of the City’s YouTube Channel. 

Engage with other residents and share your climate action story at the Sustainability Hub. 

If you have questions or feedback, please contact us at sustainability@cityofpaloalto.org.

Sustainability and Climate Action Plan Ad Hoc Committee Meetings

The Sustainability and Climate Action Plan Ad Hoc Committee guides the development, implementation, communication, and future community engagement of the Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP). You can submit comments and questions to sustainability@cityofpaloalto.org.  

Date S/CAP Ad Hoc Topic  Meeting Info
 6/14/2022 Working Group Teams
 4/14/2022 Carbon Neutrality
 3/10/2022 Working Group Teams

CANCELLED
 2/10/2022 Funding and Financing
 1/13/2022 Wildfires and Sea Level Rise
 12/9/2021 Mobility
 11/4/2021  Electric Vehicles
Questions posed at the meeting:
  1. What are your ideas on the best ways to encourage people to switch to an EV?
  2. What are your ideas on the best ways to encourage people to use alternative modes of transportation such as an e-Bike or e-Scooter? 
 10/14/2021 Non-Residential Building Electrification
Questions posed at the meeting:
  1. Other than the goals already proposed (S/CAP Goals and Key Actions(PDF, 704KB)), are there other intermediate goals that the City should consider for the non-residential building sector?
  2. What are some ways that the community can help to support non-residential building electrification?
  3. What are some ways that the City can acknowledge community business leaders who are electrifying their businesses? 
 9/9/2021 Residential Building Electrification
Questions posed at the meeting:
  1. In the Residential Building Electrification Overview(PDF, 223KB), we’ve outlined barriers to residential building electrification. What are your top three barriers?
  2. Does our draft Three-Year Work Plan(PDF, 211KB) address those barriers?
  3. What should the City’s top three priorities be for advancing residential building electrification?
8/12/2021 Kick-Off Meeting

2021 Webinars

Date S/CAP Topic  Meeting Info
4/19/2021 Preliminary Impact Analysis Overview for the 4/19 Council Meeting

2020 Webinars and Workshops

 Date  S/CAP Topic Meeting Info

12/8/2020

6:30 - 7:30 pm

 The Importance of the Natural Environment in Meeting Our Sustainability Goals

11/18/2020

7 - 8 pm

 Getting to 80 x 30: Your Transportation Vision for Palo Alto

10/22/2020

6 - 7 pm


 All-Electric Homes 101

9/30/2020

4 - 4:30 pm


 Sustainability and Climate Action Plan: Palo Alto’s Efforts to Act on Climate Change

9/9/2020

3 - 4:30 pm


 		 Sea Level Rise General Update
3/31/20201 to 4/14/2020 Sustainability and Climate Action Plan Community Engagement Workshop #1


The City of Palo Alto originally scheduled an in-person Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP) Community Workshop for March 31, 2020 to get input on the first draft of the S/CAP Potential Goals and Key Actions. Due to the Santa Clara County Shelter-in-Pace Order that went into effect on March 17, 2020, the workshop was reconfigured into an 8-part, on-demand virtual webinar that was available from March 31 to April 14, 2020. 204 people participated in the Virtual Workshop and provided feedback on the draft goals and key actions. Feedback from the Virtual Workshop, along with all feedback received between January 22 - April 30, 2020, was used to create a Summary of All Input on S/CAP Potential Goals and Key Actions, and Community Engagement Workshop #1 through April 30 2020.
                               

Previous community engagement opportunities can be found at Sustainability Event Recaps.

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