Expanding Nature-Based Solutions

Accelerating nature-based solutions to achieve California’s climate change goals

Our lands are a critical yet underutilized sector in California’s critically urgent effort to build a resilient, equitable, and carbon neutral future. Healthy landscapes can sequester and store carbon, limit future greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, protect people and nature from the impacts of climate change, and build resilience to future impacts of climate change. Unhealthy landscapes have the opposite effect – they release more greenhouse gases than they store, worsen climate risks to people and nature, and are more vulnerable to future climate change impacts.

In October 2020, Governor Newsom outlined a comprehensive and results-oriented agenda to expand nature-based solutions across California through Executive Order N-82-20. It called for restoring nature and landscape health to deliver on our climate change goals and other critical priorities, including improving public health and safety, securing our food and water supplies, and achieving greater equity across California.

Natural and Working Lands Expert Advisory Committee

This Natural and Working Lands Expert Advisory Committee will support the implementation of AB 1757. AB 1757 directs the California Natural Resources Agency and the California Air Resources Board to establish an expert advisory committee to inform and review modeling and analyses for natural and working lands, to advise state agencies on implementation strategies and standardized accounting, and to provide recommendations on addressing barriers to efficient implementation of climate action in natural and working lands.

Learn more about our committee members here.

Frequently asked questions about this committee can be found here.

Upcoming Meetings

The next meeting of the Expert Advisory Committee will be on May 22 from 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM. Please register in advance here [Webinar registration | Microsoft Teams] and access the agenda here.

Past Meetings

Materials from the April 25 Expert Advisory Committee

Agenda from the April 25 meeting is here
The recap of the April 25 meeting can be found here.

Materials from the March 28 Expert Advisory Committee

Agenda of the March 28 meeting is here.
Recording from the March 28 meeting is here.

Materials from the Feb 10 Expert Advisory Committee

Agenda of the Feb 10 Expert Advisory Committee is here.
Recording from the Feb 10 meeting is here.
PowerPoint presentations can be accessed here and here.

Annual Progress and Priorities Listening Session

On December 2, 2022, the California Natural Resources Agency held its first annual Natural and Working Lands - Progress and Priorities listening session to inform the state’s update on implementation of the Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy. Participants provided reflections on progress made in 2022 and priorities for climate action in the natural and working lands sector in 2023. Following the listening session, state representatives from CNRA, CDFA, and CARB provided participants with a short briefing and solicited feedback on near-term next steps for AB 1757 implementation.

Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy

The Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy will drive implementation of the Governor’s Executive Order and expanded climate action in this sector, which has been called for in California’s Climate Change Scoping Plan and California’s recently updated Climate Adaptation Strategy.

California’s first Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy was released on April 22, 2022.

Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy (full size 25 MB)

Natural and Working Lands Climate Smart Strategy (reduced size 10 MB)

Estrategia Climáticamente Inteligente De Tierras Naturales Y De Trabajo (en Español)

Appendices

Carbon Sequestration and Climate Resiliency Project Registry

The California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) is required by Senate Bill 27 (Skinner, 2021) to create a Carbon Sequestration and Climate Resiliency Project Registry. The Registry is intended to facilitate funding of nature-based and direct air capture projects that deliver on California’s climate goals.

Please visit this page for answered Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) related to SB 27 and the Carbon Sequestration and Climate Resiliency Project Registry.

CNRA has released a pre-rulemaking document, a Concept Discussion Draft regarding SB 27 implementation for your review. Please submit comments electronically to naturebasedsolutions@resources.ca.gov with the subject line “SB 27 Concept Discussion Draft Public Comment” by May 30, 2023.

The Concept Discussion Draft contains two appendices, Appendix A: Draft Regulation and Appendix B: Illustrative Eligible Projects.

Language services may be provided upon request. To ensure availability of these services, please make sure your request is submitted at least 15 business days prior to the comment period deadline by contacting outreach@resources.ca.gov.

CNRA hosted a virtual public workshop on the Concept Discussion Draft on May 9, 2023. In this workshop, CNRA staff provided an overview of SB 27, walked through the Concept Discussion Draft, and facilitated discussion among workshop participants. A recording of this workshop can be found here.

In early September 2022, CNRA held two public workshops to gather feedback on the development of the project registry. Please see the following recording of the workshop plenary for more information.