Alameda County Climate Resilience
This vast county encompasses most of the “East Bay,” with dozens of cities, miles of interstate highway and railroad, and acres of airport and seaport. The county’s 1.7 million residents include historic black and brown communities struggling to remain resilient in the face of gentrification and inequity, working class families, transitory university students, and well-to-do hilldwellers, among others. The county’s geography features hills, flatlands, and coastal wetlands. In addition to dense critical infrastructure and industry, the bayshore includes a large regional park system and trails at risk from sea level rise. East Bay Regional Parks also manages ridgetop parklands and forests at the wildland interface with residential areas vulnerable to wildfire. Major cities include Berkeley, Oakland, San Leandro and Fremont. Planning for climate resilience in such a vast, diverse and multi-jurisdictional county remains challenging.
“Cities are really testbeds and places for experimentation, for trying new things. No matter what’s going on at a national level, at the local level, we can focus on our own communities and responding to our own needs.”
Danielle Mieler
City of Alameda
Alameda’s former naval air base. Photo: Maurice Ramirez
Initiatives
- Alameda County Carbon Footprint Inventory — To help determine the county-wide carbon footprint (the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused directly or indirectly by an individual, group or agency), the county prepares emissions inventories that inform climate policy and help guide climate action plans.
- East Bay Community Energy — Alameda County and 11 cities are forming East Bay Community Energy, a locally controlled power supplier, committed to producing electricity generated from renewable resources.
- Cool Counties — Alameda is one of a coalition of 39 counties in 20 states across the United States pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, tolobby the federal government to take climate action leadership, and to build communities resilient to local climate change impacts.
- Oakland-Alameda Adaptation Committee — A coalition of shoreline communities and stakeholders working to co-create an action plan to accelerate sea level rise adaptation, protect and restore water quality, recreation, habitat, and promote community resilience.
Resources
- Alameda County Climate Action Plan
- Alameda County Climate Action Plan for Government Services and Operations
- City of Alameda Climate Action and Resiliency Plan
- Alameda County Community Climate Action Plan for Unincorporated Areas
- Hayward Regional Shoreline Adaptation Master Plan
- East Bay Regional Park District: Sea Level Rise Adaptation and Mitigation
- East Bay Regional Parks District: Wildfire Resilience Program
- City of Fremont Climate Action Plan
- Albany Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Plan
- 2030 Equitable Climate Action Plan for Oakland
- City of Richmond Climate Action Plan
- City of Berkeley Climate & Resilience Plan Update 2025
Government
- Alameda County Sustainability Program
- City of Oakland Sustainability Program
- City of San Leandro Sustainability Program
- City of Alameda Sustainability & Resilience Program
For disaster preparedness and alerts go to our Disaster Prep hub listing.
Key Contacts
- Danielle Mieler, Sustainability & Resilience Manager, City of Alameda
- Project Manager for the Oakland-Alameda Adaptation Committee
- Shayna Hirshfield-Gold, Climate Program Manager, City of Oakland
- Michelle Plouse, Sustainability Planner, City of Albany
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Sustainability Manager, City of San Leandro
