Local Affiliates Amplify Global Climate Action Summit, September 10 – 16, 2018

San Francisco will be in the international spotlight when leaders and experts from around the globe descend on the city to attend the Global Climate Action Summit (GACS), taking place September 12 – 14, 2018, at the Moscone Center. The three-day summit will showcase success stories on stemming climate change and spark brainstorming on how to amp up efforts to cut greenhouse gases and combat rising seas. With a motto of "Take Ambition to the Next Level," the Summit is meant to "galvanize a global movement for climate action that leaves no one behind" while also realizing the goals of the historic Paris Agreement. California Governor Jerry Brown is one of four high-profile co-chairs convening and leading the Summit. 

“It’s up to you and it’s up to me and tens of millions of other people to get it together to roll back the forces of carbonization and join together to combat the existential threat of climate change. That is why we’re having the Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, September 2018," Brown said when he first announced the Summit in July 2017. "President Trump is trying to get out of the Paris Agreement, but he doesn’t speak for the rest of America. We in California and in states all across America believe it’s time to act, it’s time to join together and that’s why at this Climate Action Summit we’re going to get it done.”

While attendance at the Summit proper is by invitation only, you can attend the Summit virtually by watching the live stream on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Local residents are also encouraged to participate in a range of offerings put on by affiliate organizations (see the list here) during the week of the Summit, including climate action panels, workshops, tours, exhibits and other special events. One painless and appetizing way to get involved is to participate in the "Zero Footprint Dining Week," in which some of the Bay Area's top restaurants are offering "carbon neutral dining" September 10 – 16. Participating restaurants include State Bird Provisions, Jardiniere and 25 Lusk. 

Already at the forefront of the Bay Area's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, MTC and its partner, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, are involved in several affiliate events. The sister agencies' home base at the Bay Area Metro Center, at 375 Beale Street — within walking distance of the Moscone Center — will be the site of a free Climate Tech Marketplace where cities, transit agencies, businesses, consultants and interested citizens can get up close to the latest technologies for taming carbon emissions.

Just around the corner from the Metro Center there will be a pop-up storefront gallery showing the final designs from the Resilient by Design/Bay Area Challenge. This year-long effort engaged nine international engineering, planning and architecture teams in developing cutting-edge ways to protect communities around the San Francisco Bay from rising seas. Also within walking distance of the Metro Center is the location for a series of affiliate workshops sponsored by UC Davis on such topics as developing climate-resistant communities, and harnessing emerging mobility solutions — such as automated vehicles and shared vehicles — to reduce carbon emissions. MTC is a partner in staging the latter workshop.

In the spirit of the Global Climate Action Summit, Ford GoBike is offering nonmembers a Free Ride Day on Thursday, September 13 – good in any Ford GoBike city around the Bay Area: San Jose, San Francisco, Berkeley, Emeryville and Oakland. See details in the tab below, and get ready to go for a spin and help reduce your carbon footprint! (MTC is a sponsor of Ford GoBike.)

Here are details on the affiliate events hosted by or associated with MTC and the Air District:

UC Davis at the Global Climate Action Summit

Dates: Tuesday and Wednesday, September 11 & 12, 2018

Location: 555 Market Street, San Francisco, CA

Description: UC Davis has been selected to be an official affiliate event host for the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS). UC Davis, under the leadership of the UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment, and the Economy, will host two days of morning and afternoon sessions on priority climate-related issues. Each session is $15; see details below. Go to the project website for more info or register on Eventbrite.

• Tuesday, September 11, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m., Climate-Resilient Communities: How can communities develop and implement strategies to be resilient to climate threats?
• Tuesday, September 11, 2 – 7:30 p.m., Harnessing the Three Revolutions in Transportation for Climate Goals: How can shared, electric and automated vehicles help achieve climate goals? (Cosponsored by MTC)
• Wednesday, September 12, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m., Regional Transportation Policy Collaboration: How can regional stakeholders best work together to reduce transportation emissions?
• Wednesday, September 12, 2 – 5:30 p.m., From Ambition to Action in Transportation: How can California and Germany deliver on their climate-action targets?

Register for the UC Davis events.

Adaptation by Design: Resilient by Design Storefront + Exhibition

Dates: Wednesday, September 10 – Friday, September 14, 2018, 12 p.m. – 7 p.m. (except on Tuesday, when the Storefront will open at 3 p.m.)

Location: 302 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA

Description: What can communities do now to become more resilient to severe storms and flooding? Stop by the Adaptation by Design Exhibition and learn about The Resilient by Design | Bay Area Challenge, which brought local leaders, community residents and youth together with international experts in design, ecology, engineering and architecture to develop community-based solutions in nine communities around the Bay Area. (Cosponsored by MTC) More info

Note that the "California Case Study" event listed below will take place at the Storefront.

The Water Pavilion Pre-Event: A California Case Study

Date: Wednesday, September 12, 2018, starts at 1 p.m. and runs into the evening

Location: 302 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA

Description: Resilient by Design is partnering with the Governor's Office of Planning and Research, Consulate General of the Netherlands, WaterNow Alliance, Department of Water Resources, and the All Bay Collective to put on The Water Pavilion: A California Case Study. This will be a series of panels about water related topics followed by an interactive Resilience Game Night. More info

Climate Tech Marketplace

Date: Thursday, September 13, 2018, 4 – 7 p.m. 

Location: Bay Area Metro Center, 375 Beale Street, First Floor Atrium Lobby, San Francisco, CA 

Description: Join MTC and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District for the #ClimateTechMarketplace, a networking expo to connect transit agencies, governments and businesses with emerging climate technologies, including battery and fuel cell storage, renewable heating and cooling, carbon capture and conversion, waste-to-energy systems, zero-emissions vehicles, and smart mobility solutions. Attendees will have the opportunity to use virtual reality to explore a microgrid system for harnessing small-scale, renewable energy sources, get up close with the latest electric vehicle models, and interact with technologies that convert waste into useful products and electricity. The event is free. More information / Register