Tahoe-Truckee Climate Transformation Alliance: Collaboration and Progress

From Truckee Magazine, Connections Quarterly, Spring 2026

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“Climate change is a crisis already reshaping our region–how Truckee Tahoe responds in the next few years will be critical for generations to come.”

‍- Climate Transformation Alliance Program Manager, Kayleigh Reynolds
of Sierra Business Council

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Climate Threats in Truckee-Tahoe Include:

Increasing temperatures, projected to rise by up to 4-9℉ by the end of the century. That means: 

• More winter days above freezing.
• Longer summer heat waves.
• Increased stress on forests, wildlife, and water systems.
• Higher energy demand for cooling.

Decreasing snowpack, projected to decline by ~50% by mid-century. That affects:

• Ski resorts and winter recreation.
• Spring and summer water supply.
• Hydropower generation.
• Forest moisture levels going into fire season.

More precipitation falling as rain versus. snow, especially at lower elevations.This shift increases:

• Flood risk in winter.
• Reduced late-season water availability.
• Infrastructure strain during heavy storm events.

Increasing wildfire threat. Wildfires threaten:

• Homes and businesses.
• Tourism and recreation.
• Air quality.
• Critical infrastructure.
• Carbon stored in forests.

Declines in economic drivers (tourism, recreation, real estate). Climate impacts can mean:

• Shorter ski seasons.
• Smoke-filled summer weeks.
• Insurance cost spikes.
• Reduced property values in high-risk zones.
• Volatile visitation patterns.

Increased cost of living, housing crisis, workforce shortage. Climate stress compounds an already tight housing market.

• Insurance premiums increase.
• Energy costs fluctuate.
• Housing supply remains constrained.
• Workforce recruitment becomes harder.

Disruptions in energy services. 

• Extreme weather strains power systems. Heat waves increase demand. Wildfires can threaten transmission lines.
• Mountain communities need reliable, resilient energy systems. As electrification expands, that need only grows.

What the Climate Transformation Alliance Is and Why It Matters

Founded through a charter and strategic plan developed in 2021 by Truckee Town Council Member, Anna Klovstad, Truckee Tahoe Airport District Board of Director, David Diamond, and Truckee Donner Public Utility District Board of Director, Christa Finn with facilitation by Sierra Business Council—the Climate Transformation Alliance (CTA) launched in mid-2022 as a formal collaborative platform. Holding quarterly meetings, CTA’s purpose is to coordinate climate action across jurisdictions and sectors by sharing knowledge, identifying effective local solutions, and advancing greenhouse-gas reduction and climate resilience through shared strategies rather than isolated efforts. 

The Climate Transformation Alliance is working to catalyze action in the face of these daunting challenges by leveling up our region's technical capacity, providing education and a space for resource sharing, growing local partnerships and collaboration, and celebrating our region's successes.

The alliance recognizes that no single agency or organization can carry the entire burden of climate mitigation and adaptation, especially in a complex environment like the Tahoe-Truckee region, where seasonal recreation, transportation patterns, housing, and natural systems are all intertwined with the local climate. CTA serves as both a convener and an action hub, helping stakeholders align around common data, policy options, and programs.

Recent Progress: Tools, Data, and Strategy

In 2025, CTA rolled out two important public tools:

1. A Regional Greenhouse Gas Dashboard

This online dashboard allows users to view emissions inventories across jurisdictions, including per-capita data for the Town of Truckee, Nevada County, and unincorporated Placer County.

It creates:

• A shared baseline.
• Transparent metrics.
• A way to track progress over time.

2. A Policy Clearinghouse

The clearinghouse compiles emission-reduction policies already adopted locally. If one agency has implemented a successful measure, others can replicate or scale it. Instead of reinventing the wheel, partners build on each other’s work.

CTA has also expanded its communications strategy and begun presenting at statewide climate conferences, bringing Tahoe-Truckee’s rural mountain perspective into broader policy discussions.

Founding Partners Report

Climate transformation has begun within the founding partners’ own organizations. Here’s a snapshot of their progress over the past few years. 

Truckee Tahoe Airport District

Cutting Aviation Emissions

• Beginning in 2024, Truckee Tahoe Airport leads the nation and the world as the first airport selling only blended Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The Truckee Tahoe Airport is achieving about a 23% lifecycle carbon reduction per gallon compared to conventional Jet A.
• Completed a transition to 100% blended SAF for a major customer in 2023, reducing that customer’s Scope 3 emissions by 31% for the year.

Cleaning Up Operations

• Replaced four internal combustion vehicles with electric vehicles.
• Installed electric ground power units, efficient airfield lighting, and EV chargers.

Measuring and Managing Impact

• Partnered with NZero to track Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.
• Funds large-scale wildfire mitigation projects, including shaded fuel breaks and forest treatments across multiple fire districts and state lands to reduce high-severity fire risk and protect stored forest carbon.

Town of Truckee

Tracking and Reducing Municipal Emissions

• Maintains greenhouse gas inventories (2008, 2016, 2022) covering buildings, fleet, employee commute, and waste.
• Uses the data to guide operational decisions.

Electrification and Building Decarbonization

• Leads Go Electric Truckee Tahoe, offering contractor training, online courses, and one-on-one electrification coaching.
• Helps building owners plan heat pump installations and transition away from fossil fuels.

Behavior and Infrastructure Programs

• Extended the Dark Sky Outdoor Lighting Rebate Program, replacing 134 fixtures and encouraging motion-sensor upgrades to reduce wasted energy.
• Supports bike infrastructure, Bike Month events, and integration with Truckee BCycle.
• Keep Truckee Green facilitates compositing, promotes and supports reusable dining ware at businesses and restaurants, is instrumental in supporting and promoting the ban of single-use plastic water bottles and promoting Tahoe tap water and refilling stations, and much more. 

Truckee Donner Public Utility District

Applying a “GHG Filter”

• Maintains comprehensive greenhouse gas inventories (2008, 2012, 2022) across Scopes 1–3.
• Uses a net-carbon-reduction lens to evaluate capital investments and programs.

Electrification and Efficiency

• Conducts annual evaluation of conservation and electrification programs to track kWh savings and GHG reductions.
• Added electric Chevy Silverado trucks to its fleet in 2024.
• Launched new time-of-use rates to support electrification while balancing affordability and reliability.

Resilient Infrastructure

• Built new water system infrastructure with efficiency and long-term resilience in mind.
• Continues working to secure more carbon-free electricity resources for customers.

Community and Business Engagement

CTA extends beyond public agencies. Any Tahoe-Truckee organization is encouraged to participate.

• Lift Workspace adopted a Green Small Business Policy through the California Green Business Network.
• The CTA dashboard highlights initiatives like renewable diesel programs and sustainable purchasing policies.
• Northstar Community Services District advanced a Wood Energy Facility using locally sourced woody biomass for heat and energy, linking wildfire mitigation with renewable energy generation.

New: Project Incubator Workshops

In the past, CTA hosted accelerator sessions where local groups pitched climate solutions and received funding. Winning ideas included composting programs and Northstar Community Services District’s biomass utilization efforts - that program was up and running within 18 months. But the Climate Transformation Alliance is not a funding source for projects. Their work is targeted on sharing information from climate experts, sharing ideas, and finding grants and funding opportunities to share with organizations and then providing guidance and support to get funding-ready projects approved. It’s much more effective to have a good project idea and find funding for it than to try to mold a project to an available grant. CTA’s new initiative is Project Incubator Workshops. The first Project Incubator Workshop will take place on Friday, April 10th, from 9:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.

The Project Incubator Workshop will focus on moving climate ideas that could be implemented in the region by existing agencies and organizations into funding-ready projects. Pre-work is encouraged for a productive workshop. If you would like to participate in the Project Incubator Workshop, please contact CTA staff at CTA@sierrabusiness.org to ensure you receive all the prep materials. This workshop will be in place of the quarterly CTA meeting, but all are invited to attend and join a workshop group to lend expertise and ideas, or to simply find out about CTA projects. 

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Carbon neutrality by 2045 is ambitious. But in a region where climate so greatly affects our environment and economy, standing still isn’t an option. Tahoe-Truckee is choosing to move together with the Climate Transformation Alliance. For more information about how you can get involved, visit https://climatetransformationalliance.org/.