More than 180 groups urge historic investment in the communities and natural resources most affected by climate change
By Jos Hill
Project director, The Pew Charitable Trusts’ U.S. conservation project
WASHINGTON, June 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — In California, as in most of the world, climate change is hitting hardest in the most vulnerable communities. Fortunately, there’s hope for relief: Earlier this year, more than 100 organizations, including The Pew Charitable Trusts, launched a California legislative effort to place a bond initiative on the November 2024 ballot to support investments in the communities and natural resources most affected by climate change. The coalition has since grown to over 180 organizations.
Firefighters with the federal Bureau of Land Management keep watch on an intentionally set “backfire” to reduce available fuel for potential wildfires along a portion of Interstate 5 near Sacramento, California. Fire season in California is now year-round due to the recurring droughts and warming climate. Credit: Benjamin Cossel, Bureau of Land Management/Flickr Creative Commons
If it passes, the $10 billion bond would represent the largest voter-approved climate resilience investment in U.S. history and would prioritize investments specifically requested by the communities most at risk from climate impacts.
“Our working-class communities of color are currently living through intensifying climate emergencies and compounding structural inequities,” Elle Chen, legislative director of the Asian Pacific Environmental Network and a coalition member, said in a recent conversation with California state legislators.
The coalition seeks to provide California’s people and wildlife with better access to clean air, water, and open spaces and better protect nature and vulnerable communities from floods, fires, extreme heat, and other climate impacts.
‘Later is too late’
Climate change is harming California residents and industries in unprecedented ways. Numerous studies underscore the gravity of the situation in the state:
An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report found that without prompt investment, adaptation options that would benefit people and nature today will be more expensive and less effective in the future.
Since 1980, California has experienced 46 extreme weather events that each caused at least $1 billion in damage, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information.
According to California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, the state’s lands and waters—plus the forestry, farming, fishing, ranching communities, and Native American Tribes that depend on them—face increased threats without investments and adaptive management.
In a 2023 report, the Association of Bay Area Governments and its partners concluded that it would cost $110 billion to protect residents from sea-level rise in the Bay Area, putting the $10 billion climate bond request from the coalition into perspective.
As the coalition letter states, “The time is now. Later is too late.” And polls consistently indicate that Californians want to protect their state—a global biodiversity hot spot—and that they are willing to pay for it.
The coalition’s proposal combines aspects of two 2023 legislative measures—S.B. 867 authored by state Senator Ben Allen (D) and A.B. 1567 authored by Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (D)—and advances environmental justice investments that were not included in those bills. The key elements include:
Increasing access to safe drinking water and enhancing flood protection.
Improving wildfire prevention and resilience by increasing forest health.
Restoring wetlands, reintroducing salmon, and improving habitat connectivity.
Making communities more resilient to extreme heat events.
Protecting and restoring coastal and tidal habitats to minimize flooding, erosion, and runoff.
Incentivizing farmers and ranchers to improve soil health and carbon sequestration.
Expanding the state’s Equitable Building Decarbonization Program, which funds projects that boost air quality and grid reliability and create local jobs through community projects to develop renewable energy, microgrids, and energy storage.
The California Legislature has until June 27 to pass legislation that would send the bond measure to the November ballot.
For more information, visit U.S. Conservation | The Pew Charitable Trusts (pewtrusts.org)
Contact: Brian Geiger, officer, [email protected], 703-606-9958
SOURCE The Pew Charitable Trusts
