County of Santa Clara Receives NACo Award for Silicon Valley 2.0 Climate Change Project
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIF. — The County of Santa Clara was awarded the National Association of Counties (NACo) 2018 Achievement Award for its program “Silicon Valley 2.0: Decision-making Tools for Climate Adaptation and Resilience.” NACo awards honor innovative, effective county government programs.
“This is an honor that could not be achieved without the California Strategic Growth Council’s funding and all the many partners who contributed to the project and continue to collaborate with the County to advance climate defense. The County wants to gratefully acknowledge everyone involved in this shared effort for their significant contributions of time and expertise,” said Susan Gilbert-Miller, Director, County of Santa Clara Office of Sustainability.
The award, in the category of “County Resiliency: Infrastructure, Energy and Sustainability,” recognizes the Silicon Valley 2.0 Project. SV20, as the project is known, is a regional effort to create risk-based decision-making tools to assist with climate adaptation and resilience planning, and to minimize the anticipated impacts of climate change within Santa Clara County (including 15 cities and the county’s unincorporated areas). SV20 was designed and managed by the County of Santa Clara Office of Sustainability and funded by the California Strategic Growth Council.
“The County is delighted that NACo has recognized our region as national leaders in addressing climate change. Our collaborative model is one that other counties can adopt to plan for their climate preparedness efforts,” said Sylvia Gallegos, Deputy County Executive.
Over the next century, increasing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations (GHG) are expected to cause a variety of changes to local climate conditions in Santa Clara County, including sea level rise and storm surges near the San Francisco Bay; increased riverine flooding; and more frequent, higher temperatures leading to extreme heat events and wildfires, particularly inland. These climate variables (and their associated threats) are projected to impact critical assets throughout the county, including regionally significant highways, water and wastewater treatment plants, electricity substations, technology campuses, employment centers, agriculture, homes, vulnerable populations and ecosystems.
Built on a multi‐year, multi‐stakeholder process, the SV20 Climate Adaptation Guidebook and online Climate Change Preparedness Decision Support Tool were created to be resources for individual agencies, groups of cities, and/or regional partnerships to prepare a coordinated response to climate change now, and to ensure that the region continues to thrive in the future.
Read The Guidebook Executive Summary.
NACo will recognize award-winning counties at its 2018 Annual Conference and Exposition, July 13-16, in Nashville/Davidson County, Tennessee.
Started in 1970, NACo’s annual Achievement Awards program is designed to recognize county government innovations. Each nominee is judged on its own merits and not against other applications received.
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ABOUT THE COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA
The County of Santa Clara government serves a diverse, multi-cultural population of 1.9 million residents in Santa Clara County, the fifth largest county in California. With a $6.5 billion budget, more than 70 agencies/departments and 20,000 employees, the County of Santa Clara plans for the needs of a dynamic community, offers quality services, and promotes a healthy, safe and prosperous community for all. The County provides essential services including public health and environmental protection, medical services through Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC), child and adult protection services, homelessness prevention and solutions, roads, parks, libraries, emergency response to disasters, protection of minority communities and those under threat, access to a fair criminal justice system, and scores of other services, particularly for those members of our community in the greatest need.
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Media Contact: María Leticia Gómez/Laurel Anderson, Office of Public Affairs, (408) 299-5119.
Posted: May 11, 2018