Ayn Craciun, Orange County Policy Manager at Climate Action Campaign, works to teach things regarding climate change to the community in OC and Irvine. For your information, Climate Action Campaign is a not-for-profit organization based in California.
Craciun specifically works to aid communities in implementing the necessary societal changes for eliminating greenhouse gases to further lessen climate change effects. Craciun told Irvine Weekly that the city has well-rounded features and a commitment to embracing policies that would positively affect climate change. As for Craciun, the above-mentioned things have offered her nonprofit organization a so-called home from home.
As for Craciun, Irvine is a diverse and young city with many university demographics, and people in it are keen on climate action. Craciun joined the climate action organization around a year before. Craciun is a mother who cares much regarding climate change, which is what brings her to the work she does in the US.
A Climate Action Campaign community organizer, Craciun also works as a Cool Block Leader who works to aid Irvine in educating the community and implementing climate strategies. In 2021 alone, Irvine city has taken considerable measures to accomplish its carbon neutrality-related climate action objectives by 2030 before California. Irvine recently became the country’s largest city to commit itself toward 100% clean energy through the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA).
However, before OCPA was formed, Climate Action Campaign’s efforts and education caught the eye of OC residents. Thus, it helped to set up Orange County’s first-ever Community Choice Energy Program.
Now, let us discuss what Climate Action Campaign is and more.
What Does Climate Action Campaign Mean?
Craciun regards it as a watchdog that focuses on climate policy. She shared a few examples of the ways in which the organization functions to help the communities that it serves. She stated that it has a bottom-up approach to piloting effective policy solutions as well as making models that are replicable at the national and state level.
Nicole Capretz founded the organization in the City of San Diego seven years ago. As for Craciun, Capretz helped bring in landmark policies related to climate action in the city. The policies made it California’s first city to include equity in its climate action plan.
Craciun stated that while the company founder drafted the plan when she was a mayoral office staffer, it was against the resistance to the fossil fuel sector and was a GOP-related move. So, Capretz left the mayoral office and found the organization to build grassroots-level support. Consequently, San Diego turned out to be the nation’s largest city to have a legal obligation toward 100% renewable energy in 2035 or before it.
There are eight more 100% clean energy plans in the city. Craciun stated that more and more people who live in Orange County are keen on learning more regarding her organization’s efforts.
At a time with enough momentum, it recruited a person as a part-timer in OC. That staffer offered direction to local activists and aided them in putting their climate action demands into a concrete policy. Craciun finds it an important move since while the organization would submit the information to interested parties, they were unsure how to be engaged. Therefore, it offers the activists the support they require.
Things have been scaling since then while replacing the success that the activists had in the City of San Diego. Thanks to that evolution, Irvine city has turned into a CAC home base.
Initially, it specialized in Community Choice Energy (CCE), which has now become the Orange County Power Authority, as there was a lot of interest in it. The organization then continued to not only make outreach efforts in US cities, including Irvine, but also build political will. At the same time, four more cities in the US voted to be a part of them. Two years ago, Irvine city voted to make Orange County’s first-ever community choice energy program.
Craciun said that 2022 would bring further changes to the way in which CAC works. The organization has been spending the last few years paying attention to community choice energy. However, Craciun stated that it would work to let the community know about policies, including the minimization of carbon emissions from cars, building modifications and so forth.
Craciun stated that her organization could share information about possible things through better air quality and slashed emissions through the modifications with any Irvine location keen on climate action. Some of those locations are Kiwanis clubs, faith communities, PTA groups and rotary clubs.
There would have to be some changes for the so-called Climate Action Campaign (CAC) to meet its objectives overnight. Discussing those possible changes, Craciun said that many life aspects would have to change, which include changing all home appliances to use 100% renewable energy.
Craciun said that there would be a need for 100% substitution of every piece of gas-powered machine. Every piece of transportation machine and energy machine, which primarily runs on electricity, is made from burning a substance called methane, which might also be solar. However, Craciun said that there would be a requirement to replace the energy source for those pieces of machine after sunset. As for Craciun, Community Choice Aggregation is all about that. Craciun stated that buildings and transportation are the two main sources of carbon emissions in almost every Orange County city.