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Posted on: December 22, 2022

SJCOG, coalition awarded $1.7M grant to tackle climate impacts

Image shows people gathered to discuss community issues.

A $1.75 million California Strategic Growth Council (SGC) grant will help a coalition of community-based organizations and the San Joaquin Council of Government (SJCOG) to form the San Joaquin Regional Climate Collaborative to better prepare the region to mitigate and adapt to current and future environmental challenges. 

SGC’s Regional Climate Collaboratives (RCC) Program was created by state Senate Bill 170, which funds ambitious measures to build climate adaptation and resilience through planning, research, capacity building, restoration, and sustainable infrastructure. Partners in the San Joaquin Regional Climate Collaborative include Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Stockton, Stockton Service Corps., University of the Pacific Center for Business and Policy Research, Public Health Advocates, GRID Alternatives North Valley and SJCOG.

“This grant means the San Joaquin Council of Governments and our partners in the San Joaquin Regional Climate Collaborative will be able to help under-resourced communities in the region combat the environmental challenges they face now and into the future,” SJCOG Executive Director Diane Nguyen said. “It will empower those community-led efforts with data, capacity building and readiness to pursue climate solutions and build more resilient communities. By bringing residents, community stakeholders, researchers, and local government together, the collaborative envisions a region where all residents have equal opportunity to live in healthy communities filled with economic opportunity that are ready to meet the challenges ahead.”

The collaborative partners plan to build capacity through community outreach, stakeholder partnerships, and a community advisory board. They also plan educational workshops, gaps and needs assessments, prioritization of existing plans and projects, development of a regional climate research clearinghouse and directory, and the creation of an action plan to pursue more research and funding to implement plans and projects. The idea is to leverage existing infrastructure, plans, projects, funding and expertise to improve regional climate resilience and adaptation priorities in San Joaquin County communities with the greatest need.

“The Regional Climate Collaboratives program is an emerging government investment model to build local capacity and ensure communities have an on-ramp to successfully compete for and implement climate infrastructure investment,” Lynn von Koch-Liebert, SGC executive director, said in a statement announcing the grants. “Oversubscription in our first round of funding makes it clear there is significant need to build capacity to prepare communities for unprecedented state and federal investment. We are thrilled to announce our Round 1 grantees to begin this work. And want to thank all our applicants for their continued work to build thriving, healthy and resilient communities for all.”

The first-round winners included:

  • $1,750,000 Award to Gateway Cities Regional Climate Collaborative.
  • $1,750,000 Award to San Joaquin Regional Climate Collaborative.
  • $1,749,911 Award to Southern California Tribal Regional Climate Collaborative.
  • $1,500,000 Award to Siskiyou Climate Collaborative.
  • $996,390 Award to Marin Climate Justice Collaborative.
  • $799,004 Award to 2030 Resilient Networks Collaborative.

SGC approved $8.5 million in grants statewide in the first round of funding to help communities tackle climate impacts by supporting six Regional Climate Collaboratives to build readiness for climate project investment and implementation. Since 2008, SGC has invested more than $2.8 billion in projects strengthening communities and addressing climate change. SGC is comprised of seven state agencies and three public members.

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