(a) The Climate Ready Program is hereby established and shall be administered by the conservancy to address the impacts and potential impacts of climate change on resources within the conservancy’s jurisdiction.

(b) In implementing this division, the conservancy may undertake projects within its jurisdiction, including, but not limited to, those that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, address extreme weather events, sea level rise, storm surge, beach and bluff erosion, salt water intrusion, flooding, and other coastal hazards that threaten coastal communities, infrastructure, and natural resources.

(c) Pursuant to the Climate Ready Program, the conservancy may award grants to public agencies and nonprofit organizations for activities authorized pursuant to subdivision (b). In awarding the grants, the conservancy shall, to the extent allowed, prioritize projects that maximize public benefits and that accomplish either of the following:

(1) Reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, reduce hazards to harbors and ports, preserve and enhance coastal wetlands and natural lands, conserve biodiversity, and provide recreational opportunities.

(2) Reduce flood risk and enhance fish and wildlife habitat, including projects with multiple benefits that remove sediment where the excavated material can be used to enhance shorelines or ecosystems.

(d) (1) When allocating funds made available pursuant to Section 80133, the conservancy shall do all of the following:

(A) Prioritize projects that use natural infrastructure in coastal communities to help adapt to climate change.

(B) Prioritize projects that provide multiple public benefits, including, but not limited to, protection of communities, natural resources, and recreational opportunities.

(C) Give consideration to projects in a variety of ecosystems along the state’s coastline, including, but not limited to, the protection and expansion of coastal estuaries and lagoons that provide critical feeding and nursery habitat for juvenile fish species and foraging habitat for migratory waterfowl and other waterbirds, including eelgrass habitat.

(2) The conservancy shall provide information to the Office of Planning and Research on any projects funded pursuant to this subdivision to be considered for inclusion into the clearinghouse for climate adaption information, established pursuant to Section 71360.

(3) The conservancy may provide technical assistance to coastal communities to better assist them with their projects that use natural infrastructure.

(4) For purposes of this subdivision, “natural infrastructure” means using natural ecological systems or processes to reduce vulnerability to climate change related hazards, or other related climate change effects, while increasing the long-term adaptive capacity of coastal and inland areas by perpetuating or restoring ecosystem services. This includes, but is not limited to, the conservation, preservation, or sustainable management of any form of aquatic or terrestrial vegetated open space, such as beaches, dunes, tidal marshes, reefs, seagrass, parks, rain gardens, and urban tree canopies. It also includes systems and practices that use or mimic natural processes, such as permeable pavements, bioswales, and other engineered systems, such as levees that are combined with restored natural systems, to provide clean water, conserve ecosystem values and functions, and provide a wide array of benefits to people and wildlife.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 374, Sec. 2.5. (SB 576) Effective January 1, 2020.)