Climate Ready MB Logo In 2018, the City created a Climate Resiliency Program, called Climate Ready Manhattan Beach (Climate Ready MB).

Climate Ready MB included the creation of a Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment, the City's first Sea Level Rise Adaptation Plan; a Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, virtual reality to help residents and visitors better understand the impacts of sea level rise, and updates to the City’s Local Coastal Program-Land Use Plan, Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, and General Plan.

Climate Ready MB will help the City be more prepared for climate change, especially during a confluence of events such as sea level rise, extreme high tides, storm surges, heavy precipitation, and coastal erosion.

Look Ahead MB Virtual Reality

Look Ahead MB poster Watch a series of interactive virtual reality videos that use sea level rise models developed by the U.S. Geological Survey to demonstrate what the City of Manhattan Beach’s coast could look like with 3 feet of sea level rise, high tides, and big waves.

Concurrently, the City has formed a collaborative partnership between The Bay Foundation and Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors on a pilot dune enhancement and restoration project to increase the resiliency of the City’s shoreline.

Climate Positive Vision

To support our vision of a “climate positive” community, the City strives to be carbon neutral by 2045, and to be resilient to current and future climate change hazards.

How will climate change impact Manhattan Beach?

Climate Action and Adaptation Plan

On April 1, 2025, the City Council adopted the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (MB CAAP). The MB CAAP is a comprehensive plan designed to align the City’s policies with state and regional climate goals. It represents an opportunity for the City to proactively shape a sustainable, resilient future and it serves as a blueprint for the City's climate-related decisions and investments over the coming decades and positions the City as a leader in sustainability, committed to reducing emissions, enhancing resilience, and improving the quality of life for all residents.

MB CAAP Objectives:

Reduce the City's community-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; and
Increase the resilience of the community to the anticipated impacts of climate change.

One of the primary goals of the MB CAAP is to achieve net-zero community greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2045 in alignment with the State's goal established by Assembly Bill (AB) 1279, the California Climate Crisis Act, which requires California to achieve net-zero GHG emissions as soon as possible, but no later than 2045, as well as statewide reduction in GHG emissions of 85 percent compared to 1990 levels.

Climate change will have direct and indirect impacts to public health, including impacts on physical/mental health and wellbeing with greater risk of illness and hospitalization, and greater risk of early mortality, particularly from extreme heat hazards. Along with impacts to public health, climate change can affect community services, public assets, and infrastructure. Sea level rise and extreme storms and flooding can damage roadways, evacuation routes, utility lines, and other critical resources that the community relies on.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Climate Action
Climate Adaptation

The City has completed multiple GHG emission inventories spanning the years 1990 to 2021.

On-road transportation contributes the most to the community inventory, followed by non-residential electricity, residential natural gas, residential electricity, residential electricity, and water. Combined, these sectors represent approximately 92 percent of the total baseline inventory, with the remaining sectors (non-residential natural gas, solid waste, off-road equipment, and wastewater) contributing approximately 8 percent. Total community-wide emissions show a downward trend from 2005 to 2020, dropping significantly from 2012 to 2020.

The City’s baseline community GHG Inventory for 2005 forms the basis for setting emissions reduction targets and measuring future progress. Forecasts of the City’s future emissions are based on current best estimates for population, households, and job growth within the City under “business-as-usual” (BAU) conditions, and under an ‘adjusted’ forecast scenario that includes the effect of state-mandated GHG reduction programs.

The graphic below illustrates the City’s targets for 2030 and 2045 that align with SB 32 and AB 1279, respectively. Because the City's baseline is 2005, statewide emissions growth that occurred between 1990 and 2005 was accounted for; the 2030 state-aligned target equates to a reduction of approximately 48 percent below the City’s 2005 baseline, while the 2045 state-aligned target equates to a reduction of approximately 87 percent below the 2005 baseline.

Read Chapter 3 in the MB CAAP for a deeper dive into understanding the community's emissions and the City's target reductions.

The City is currently in the process of developing a 2024 GHG emissions inventory.

View previous GHG emissions inventories:

Climate Positive Goals

Goal 1: An engaged, prosperous, and equitable community

Climate change represents a threat to future prosperity, but new economic opportunities are emerging. Economic development and GHG reductions are synergistic planning goals; GHG reduction strategies can align with opportunities in clean technologies for increased green products and services, energy efficiency, low-carbon transportation, and renewable materials. Support for green and clean technology businesses offer an opportunity to boost local employment growth, enhance regional economic competitiveness, and advance sustainability goals while reducing community-wide GHG emissions.

Equity Considerations:

The City consistently ranks among the most educated, wealthiest, and healthiest cities in California. However, some neighborhoods and populations struggle with high levels of environmental burden, or socioeconomic gaps in housing burden and unemployment rates.

The impacts of climate change – from flooding and extreme weather events, to deteriorated air quality, to severe droughts – disproportionately impact those who are historically over-burdened and under-resourced, including the elderly, infants and children, people of color, and people living in poverty. Implementation of GHG reduction measures and climate adaptation efforts can directly benefit disadvantaged communities through prioritized investments that increase the ability of these communities to prepare for climate change impacts; the City can prioritize the allocation of resources to these neighborhoods to help increase affordable housing and mobility options, while improving local access to parks and recreation.

The City as a whole has high levels of PM 2.5 pollution. As shown in the image below, census tracts in the north and east of the City already experience relatively high levels of diesel PM pollution which makes them more vulnerable to air quality impacts from climate change. Trees reduce air pollution by intercepting airborne particles and through the uptake of air pollutants through the leaf stomata. As a result, in areas with increased tree cover air quality is improved relative to areas with fewer trees, such as census tracts in the western portion of the City. Individuals living in park-poor neighborhoods or areas without trees are more vulnerable to the impacts of poor air quality as they do not experience the air quality benefits that trees, greenery, and open space can provide. Populations that are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of poor air quality include children, elderly, outdoor workers, individuals with existing health conditions such as asthma, individuals without access to healthcare, and communities with low birth weights

Relative Diesel Particulate Matter Pollution in Manhattan Beach:

Clean Energy Systems (E)
E1: Procure Zero-Carbon Electricity	Maintain at least 95% community participation and 100% municipal participation in CPA's Green Power tier.
E2: Increase Local Solar Energy Generation	Double the community’s total solar PV system capacity (based on 2019 levels). This includes residential and non-residential solar PV systems.
E3: Develop Energy Storage/Microgrids	Achieve community electricity storage capacity equal to the city-wide 24-hour average usage.
Green Buildings (B)
B1: Improve Efficiency of Existing Buildings	Reduce the energy intensity (consumption per square foot) of existing (as of 2019) residential and commercial buildings by 15%.
B2: Net-Zero Buildings	New Development: Incentivize the use of electric appliances in new residential and commercial construction, with exceptions for stoves and outdoor fireplaces. Existing Development: Reduce residential and commercial natural gas use by 10%.
Zero-Emission Vehicles (V)
V1: Expand EV Charging Infrastructure	Increase the amount of publicly accessible EV charging stations to 600 and Achieve community-wide 25% EV penetration.
V2: Transition City Fleet to EVs	Achieve 50% electric-powered or zero emissions municipal fleet and equipment.
Smart Mobility (M)
M1: Expand Infrastructure for Pedestrians, Bikes, and Micro-Mobility Solutions	Increase existing Class I bike path miles by 10% and Class II bike lane miles by 25% and achieve zero fatal accidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists.
M2: Improve Transit Effectiveness and Accessibility	Increase local transit ridership by 20% and provide transit stop amenities (refuse cans, benches, and shelters) to all bus stop locations.
M3: Support Mixed-Use Development Downtown and Along Commercial Corridors	Adopt mixed-use development standards into the City’s Local Coastal Program.
M4: Embrace Mobility as a Service	Expand travel options that don’t require personal vehicle ownership.
Water Conservation and Reuse (W)
W1: Increase Water Conservation	Reduce community per capita water use by 10%.
W2: Decrease Carbon Intensity of Delivered Water	Increase the City’s use of recycled water or graywater to 20% of total water demand.
Waste Reduction and Recycling (R)
R1: Increase Recycling and Organic Waste Diversion	Reduce community-wide and municipal organic waste disposal by 75% from 2014 levels.
Nature-Based Solutions (N)
N1: Increase Local Carbon Sequestration	Increase the City’s tree canopy cover by five% using native and drought-resistant species.

City of Manhattan Beach

Climate Ready Manhattan Beach

Climate Action and Adaptation Plan

Climate Action

Climate Adaptation

Community Preparedness (CP)

Extreme Heat (EH)

Air Pollution (AP)

Sea Level Rise (SR)

Extreme Drought (ED)

Extreme Storms and Stormwater Flooding (SF)