California Strategic Growth Council surges past milestone of $5 billion in community climate investments
Contact: Kalin Kipling-Mojaddedi, kalin.kipling-mojaddedi@lci.ca.gov
What you need to know: Today, Dec. 10, the California Strategic Growth Council approved more than $866 million in grant funding for 39 projects, building on $128 million awarded in October. Over $835 million is directed to 21 affordable housing and green transportation projects in 17 jurisdictions, including $185.6 million to L.A. County alone.
SACRAMENTO (12/10/25) — Gov. Gavin Newsom today, Dec. 10, announced more than $866 million in new investments to build affordable housing, expand transit, and protect communities from climate change.
The awards include funding for new affordable housing in 17 communities across the state, thousands of new homes, and major sustainable transportation upgrades, with $185.6 million going to Los Angeles County as it rebuilds infrastructure after this year’s devastating wildfires.
California’s cap-and-invest program is doing exactly what it was designed to do: cut pollution and reinvest back into our communities. We’re seeing the results — thousands of families getting access to new homes and neighborhoods statewide, benefiting from payments made by polluters. We’re seeing the dividends through real results. We’re not stopping, because real climate leadership means pairing ambition with equity and urgency to help those who need it the most.
How cap-and-invest pays for sustainable growth
California Climate Investment funding is part of the state’s cap-and-invest program, which requires polluters to buy allowances for the greenhouse gases they emit. The funding puts billions of dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — especially in disadvantaged communities. The funding directly supports the Governor’s work to build a California for All, meeting the housing needs throughout the state while also protecting California’s climate.
By investing in the communities hit hardest by climate impacts — from wildfire recovery in Southern California to agricultural preservation in the Central Valley — California is using California Climate Investment funds to protect health, stability, and opportunity across the state.
More than $5 billion in sustainable investments
With today’s awards — the California Strategic Growth Council’s (SGC) largest award announcement to date — combined with October’s $128 million from the SALC Program, the council surpassed a historic $5 billion investment milestone. These investments:
- Fund affordable housing and transportation projects close to jobs, schools, and other daily destinations.
- Build climate resilience through protecting our productive farmlands and encouraging compact transit-oriented communities.
- Support community-led climate solutions that achieve major environmental, health, and economic benefits in California’s most disadvantaged communities.
This milestone reflects our commitment to keeping communities safe and healthy for the long haul. These investments will help families breathe cleaner air, stay protected during extreme heat, find stable places to live and work, and preserve the lands that feed us. Crossing the $5 billion mark is about people-centered resilience and showing real partnership with the neighborhoods hit first and worse by climate impacts. We are so proud to be a part of that!
“This milestone reflects our commitment to keeping communities safe and healthy for the long haul,” said SGC Executive Director Erin Curtis. “These investments will help families breathe cleaner air, stay protected during extreme heat, find stable places to live and work, and preserve the lands that feed us. Crossing the $5 billion mark is about people-centered resilience and showing real partnership with the neighborhoods hit first and worse by climate impacts. We are so proud to be a part of that!”
The funding approved today by SGC included more than $866 million in grant funding for 39 projects within three programs:
- Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program – $835,318,208 for 21 affordable housing and green transportation projects in 17 jurisdictions through Round 9 grants
- Transformative Climate Communities Program — $29,484,224 from the anticipated fiscal year 2026-2027 Proposition 4 (Climate Bond) to fully fund four Round 5 grants
- Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program — $2,051,490 for 14 capacity-building projects in 25 counties through Round 10 grants.
- Descriptions of the SALC Round 10-funded projects:
“These community-driven solutions prove that California leads on climate and leaves no one behind,” said California Secretary for Environmental Protection Yana Garcia, who is a member of the council. “This billion-dollar investment delivers cleaner air, healthier people, and good jobs across California—furthering our deep commitment to building healthy and sustainable communities for everyone.”
These community-driven solutions prove that California leads on climate and leaves no one behind. This billion-dollar investment delivers cleaner air, healthier people, and good jobs across California—furthering our deep commitment to building healthy and sustainable communities for everyone.
Thousands of new homes and needed infrastructure
This round of Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities will build healthier communities and protect the environment by supporting the creation of 2,393 new rent-restricted homes, with almost two-thirds of those units dedicated to extremely or very low-Income households. Not only will these projects build much-needed affordable housing, but they create needed sustainable infrastructure:
- Over 30 new zero-emission public transit vehicles
- Approximately 150 new bus shelters
- 45 miles of bikeways
- 20 miles of safe, accessible walkways.
The impact of these projects will be equivalent to 209,410 gas-powered car trips removed from the road annually. Projects are located throughout the state in the Central Coast, Coastal Southern California, Inland Southern California, the North State and Sierras, the Sacramento area, the San Diego area, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the San Joaquin Valley.
“California continues to build affordable homes that strengthen our climate resilience,” said Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Tomiquia Moss. “With more than $4.8 billion invested to date, we are creating healthier, more connected neighborhoods where all Californians can thrive. Our state and our Governor are all in when it comes to supporting safe and livable communities.”
California continues to build affordable homes that strengthen our climate resilience. With more than $4.8 billion invested to date, we are creating healthier, more connected neighborhoods where all Californians can thrive. Our state and our Governor are all in when it comes to supporting safe and livable communities.
Protecting agricultural lands
AHSC’s subprogram, Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation (SALC), works to balance building with conservation. The two programs work together to ensure that California is building affordable new homes quickly, in the right places, while protecting open spaces and working agricultural lands at risk of development. The SALC Capacity Grants support early-stage planning, partnerships, and technical efforts that protect farmland, reduce sprawl and keep climate-beneficial agriculture in production.
Through the program, 60 acquisition projects have been developed for SALC acquisition applications and 41,837 acres protected. To date, SGC has awarded $613 million in SALC grants to 245 easement projects, 15 fee acquisition projects, 42 planning projects and 39 capacity projects.
California’s farms and ranches help to feed America and are the lifeblood of rural communities across our state. State funding through this program protects these working lands from urban sprawl and helps to steer new development into existing communities where jobs and infrastructure already exist. Conserving these agricultural lands also protects food production, limits traffic and pollution in our rural areas, and protects open space across our state.
New clean transportation projects
The funding today also adds to existing TCC Implementation Grants, bringing the total funding to $453.5 million. This program empowers communities most impacted by legacy pollution to design and implement projects to advance clean transportation, affordable housing, renewable energy, energy efficiency, urban greening and more.
The three programs build on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s commitment to put communities first and build adaptation and resilience, expanding access to affordable housing, conserving working lands and reducing carbon emissions through community-led solutions.
About SGC
The SGC is made up of state leadership and members of the public representing California’s most vital sectors — from housing and transportation to natural resources and environmental protection.
Together, these members bring expertise spanning climate resilience, housing, transportation, environmental justice, agriculture, public health, and community development — ensuring that SGC’s work reflects its residents, especially those marginalized and underserved.
About AHSC
AHSC is administered by SGC and implemented by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). AHSC is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Invest (formerly Cap-and-Trade) dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment—particularly in disadvantaged and low-income communities.
Through investments in transit-oriented development, AHSC builds affordable housing near transportation options, helping Californians live closer to work, school, and essential services — improving quality of life while reducing carbon emissions.
About SALC
SALC is a component of SGC’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program (AHSC). It complements infrastructure investments made in urban areas with the purchase of agricultural conservation easements, development of agricultural land strategy plans, and other mechanisms that result in greenhouse gas reductions and a more resilient agricultural sector. The program invests in agricultural land conservation with revenue from California Climate Investments derived from quarterly Cap-and-Invest, formerly known as Cap-and-Trade, auction proceeds. Cap-and-Invest proceeds are administered by the California Air Resources Board, and the California Department of Conservation works in cooperation with the California Natural Resources Agency as SGC’s implementation partner for the program.
About TCC
The Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) Program empowers the communities most impacted by pollution to choose their own goals, strategies, and projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution.