Title

Leveraging Transportation Infrastructure Investments for Climate Action

Time

1:40pm - 3:00pm

Location

Remote instruction

Abstract

On September 20th, 2019, Governor Newsom Issued Executive Order N-19-19, which directed the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) to leverage over $5 Billion of discretionary transportation infrastructure investments to help meet California’s ambitious climate goals. The Executive Order asks CalSTA to align transportation spending with the State’s Climate Change Scoping Plan where feasible; direct investments to strategically support smart growth to increase infill housing production; reduce congestion through strategies that encourage a reduction in driving; invest further in walking, biking, and transit; and ensure that overall transportation costs for low income Californians do not increase as a result of these policies.

This presentation will cover the various opportunities and challenges surrounding the creation of the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI), an effort underway since early 2020 to help implement EO N-19-19.

Biographical Sketch

Darwin Moosavi was appointed Deputy Secretary for Environmental Policy and Housing Coordination at the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) in August of 2019 by Governor Gavin Newsom. In this role, he serves as a key advisor for issues related to GHG and VMT reduction, climate change adaptation, environmental protection, and land use policy that fall under the purview of CalSTA.

Before joining the team at CalSTA, Darwin served as Sustainability Project Manager the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), leading initiatives to champion walking, bicycling and transit use, promote zero emission vehicles and integrate equity considerations into the Department’s work. Under the administration of Governor Brown, Darwin was appointed as a Senior Planner at the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR), where he worked on various transportation policy issues centered around building sustainable communities and reducing vehicle miles traveled. Darwin spent several years helping build the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program, and later served as its Program Manager at the Strategic Growth Council.