Ayn Craciun, OC Policy Manager of Climate Action Campaign, a grassroots nonprofit organization, spends her time working to educate the local community in Irvine and Orange County about climate change.

Specifically, Craciun works to help communities implement the societal changes needed to eliminate greenhouse gasses in order to further reduce the impacts of climate change. 

Speaking to Irvine Weekly, Craciun explained that Irvine’s well-rounded characteristics and commitment to adopting policies that will positively impact climate change has given Climate Action Campaign, originally founded in San Diego, a home away from home. 

“A lot of university demographics, a young and diverse city. Folks [in Irvine] are interested in climate action,” Craciun said. “Personally, I came on board the Climate Action Campaign about a year ago. I’m a mom and I care a lot about climate change, so that’s what brings me to this work.”

As a community organizer for CAC, Craciun also serves as one of Irvine’s 200 Cool Block Leaders working to help implement climate strategies and education within the community. 

In the past year alone, the city of Irvine has taken big steps to achieve its climate action goals of carbon neutrality by 2030, 15 years ahead of California’s goal of 2045. Recently, Irvine became the largest city in the nation to commit to 100% renewable energy via the Orange County Power Authority.  

Yet, prior to the formation of the Orange County Power Authority, it was through the education and efforts of the Climate Action Campaign that drew the attention of Orange County residents and would eventually establish the first Community Choice Energy Program in Orange County. 

So what is the Climate Action Campaign, and why Irvine? 

Describing Climate Action Campaign as a climate policy watchdog, Craciun shared some specific examples of how CAC works to benefit the communities it serves. 

“We have a bottom-up strategy for piloting successful local policy solutions, and creating models that can be replicated at the state and national level,” she explained. 

Founded in San Diego in 2015 by CEO Nicole Capretz, Craciun explained that Capretz helped usher in landmark climate action policies in San Diego that resulted in San Diego being the first city in California to integrate equity into their climate action plan.     

“[Capretz] had drafted it while working in the mayor’s office, but it was a Republican administration and against the opposition of the local fossil fuel industry. She saw that it was not going to happen without the community support it needed around it,” Craciun said. “So, she left the mayor’s office to found CAC to build that grassroots support. As a result of that, San Diego became the largest city in the United States — at that time — to make a legally binding commitment toward 100% clean electricity by 2035.”

Now with eight additional 100% renewable electric plans in San Diego, Craciun said Orange County residents became increasingly interested in learning more about Climate Action Campaign’s efforts.  

“In 2018, when there was enough momentum, we hired a part-time staffer in Orange County — she gave local activists direction and helped them put their demand for climate action into concrete policy,” she said. “That was really key, because when we would present the info to interested groups, they weren’t really sure how to engage. So, we provide the support that activists need.” 

Since then, things have continued to scale and replicate the success they’ve had in San Diego. With that evolution, the city of Irvine has become a home base to CAC. 

“Initially we focused on Community Choice Energy, what is now the Orange County Power Authority, because there was so much interest in that,” she added. “As we kept doing outreach in Irvine and in other cities, and kept building political will — of course in 2020 Irvine voted to create the first community choice energy program in Orange County — and four other cities voted to join them.” 

Craciun explained that 2022 will bring more changes to how CAC works. While the past few years have been spent focusing on community choice energy, this year CAC will be working to educate the community on policies involving the reduction of carbon across the spectrum, from cars to building modifications. 

“We will be doing a lot of PTA groups, and faith communities and Kiwanis clubs and rotary clubs and any other place — especially in Irvine who are interested in climate action, and where we can share the good news about what is possible through slashing emissions and improving air quality through building modifications will def be our focus,” said Craciun. 

Speaking on the hypothetical changes that would need to occur in order for the Climate Action Campaign to reach its goals overnight, Craciun explained that while several aspects of life would need to change — including the adoption of every home appliance to be 100% clean, all-electric.

“We would need 100% adoption — 100% replacement of all gas-powered machines. All transportation machines, all energy machines – the primary source of electricity from Edison – is created from burning methane, [might be solar] but as soon as the sun goes down [it’s methane], so we need to replace that. That’s what community choice energy is about,” she said. “Transportation is huge – and in most Orange County cities it’s the number one source of emissions, and buildings are the number two source of emissions.”

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