Sacramento County is strategically located in the heart of multi-jurisdictional efforts to combat climate change. Utilities servicing Sacramento County were among the early adopters of programs to save energy and preserve the environment. Both the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG & E) provide businesses and consumers with opportunities to reduce energy use and save money.

Local governments working as partners led to the powerful Sacramento Region Blueprint’s adoption in late 2004. Spearheaded by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG,) the Blueprint was developed jointly by leaders in Sacramento and surrounding counties as a means to control our future growth rather than be controlled by it. Smart growth principles are incorporated into many levels of projects tackled by cities and counties in our region.

In September 2006, Governor Schwarzenegger signed the landmark Global Solutions Warming Act, an aggressive, comprehensive approach to decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. By the year 2020, carbon emissions in California must be reduced to 1990 levels. All local governments will be impacted by this mandate. Sacramento County has already begun working to meet the requirements of the law, also known as AB 32. Read an AB 32 Fact Sheet.