NEWS
#ClimateBondNOW
CAPITOL WEEKLY
Put Climate on the Ballot in November
California is staring down a state budget crisis and a climate emergency. Both require solutions, not one at the expense of the other.
Tough decisions lay ahead for California’s leaders, but placing a robust and equitable climate bond on the November ballot is an urgent, logical choice.
Climate change has clear causes and proven solutions but California’s investments in them are inadequate. Unless we square our investment with the scope of the challenge, the lives we build face dire but preventable risk.
CALMATTERS
California isn’t on track to meet its climate change mandates — and a new analysis says it’s not even close
California will fail to meet its ambitious mandates for combating climate change unless the state almost triples its rate of reducing greenhouse gases through 2030, according to a new analysis released today.
After dropping during the pandemic, California’s emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other climate-warming gases increased 3.4% in 2021, when the economy rebounded. The increase puts California further away from reaching its target mandated under state law: emitting 40% less in 2030 than in 1990 — a feat that will become more expensive and more difficult as time passes, the report’s authors told CalMatters.
POLITICO
Environmentalists release poll showing support for $15B climate bond
A majority of California voters would support a $15 billion climate bond proposal on the November ballot — more than would support a less-expensive measure, according to new polling by The Nature Conservancy.
The numbers: The poll, completed last week by FM3 Research and released to POLITICO on Monday, found that 60 percent of registered voters would back a $15 billion bond focused on safe drinking water, wildfire prevention, clean energy and other climate programs. The level of support dipped slightly to 58 percent when voters were presented with a $10 billion proposal.
The poll question also asked voters to assume that a separate $14 billion K-14 school bond will appear on the ballot.
THE SACRAMENTO BEE
More than 100 Groups Sign Letter Urging For a Climate Bond
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders should take action to place a “robust and equitable” bond on the November ballot “that prioritizes direct and meaningful investments in the California communities and natural resources most impacted by climate change,” according to a letter signed by a coalition of more than 100 climate advocacy groups.
“We have aligned to recommend $10 billion in investments that we view as the floor for California to continue making timely progress on its ambitious climate and natural resources commitments,” the letter reads in part.
As California, and the world, face the growing threat of climate change-fueled catastrophe, the coalition urges immediate action.
CALIFORNIA CLIMATE
Bond Breakdown
A group of more than 100 environmental groups laid out its climate bond priorities in a letter today to Newsom and lawmakers. The coalition is pushing for a total of at least $10 billion — a step back from the nearly $16 billion contained in a pair of proposals from Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia and Sen. Ben Allen. Safe drinking water and flood protection would get the biggest chunk of funding, at $3 billion. Other buckets include $2 billion for wildfire prevention and resilience, $1.5 billion for nature-based solutions and biodiversity, $1.05 billion for extreme heat and community resilience and $500 million for sustainable agriculture.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Extreme heat, wildfire smoke harm low-income and nonwhite communities the most, study finds
Extreme heat and wildfire smoke are independently harmful to the human body, but together their impact on cardiovascular and respiratory systems is more dangerous and affects some communities more than others.
A study published Friday in the journal Science Advances said climate change is increasing the frequency of both hazards, particularly in California. The authors found that the combined harm of extreme heat and inhalation of wildfire smoke increased hospitalizations and disproportionately impacted low-income communities and Latino, Black, Asian and other racially marginalized residents.
The reasons are varied and complicated, according to the authors from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Structural racism, discriminatory practices, lack of medical insurance, less understanding of the health damages and a higher prevalence of multiple coexisting conditions are among the reasons.
AXIOS
New study: Climate change reversing air-quality gains
After decades of progress toward cleaner air, California will see steady deterioration through 2054, as climate change-related events are reversing those gains, per a new report. Why it matters: An increase in large wildfires in the West, along with heat waves and drought, already are yielding a growing "climate penalty" to air quality. California is projected to see some of the worst air-quality impacts, chiefly from wildfire smoke.
THE SACRAMENTO BEE
How high is the Sacramento Valley’s wildfire risk? See your county on an interactive map
While California is no stranger to wildfires, areas around the Sacramento Valley region are more at risk than others. By using data collected in March 2023 and risk assessments, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has created a map that shows counties across the United States currently considered most at risk for wildfires. The agency looked at expected annual loss, which calculates the costs of natural disasters, as well as social vulnerability, which determines how humans will be affected by disasters. FEMA also explored community resilience — how well people prepare for natural disasters and how quickly communities bounce back following the event.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
A single, devastating California fire season wiped out years of efforts to cut emissions
A nearly two-decade effort by Californians to cut their emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide may have been erased by a single, devastating year of wildfires, according to UCLA and University of Chicago researchers.
The state’s record-breaking 2020 fire season, which saw more than 4 million acres burn, spewed almost twice the tonnage of greenhouse gases as the total amount of carbon dioxide reductions made since 2003, according to a study published recently in the journal Environmental Pollution.
Researchers estimated that about 127 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent were released by the fires, compared with about 65 million metric tons of reductions achieved in the previous 18 years.
PPIC
Statewide Survey: Californians and the Environment
California had storms and snowpacks of historic proportions this winter, followed by large water runoffs in the spring, providing a welcome respite from a prolonged drought. But Californians are facing “weather whiplash” and heat waves as the global climate changes. Meanwhile, the economy is sending mixed signals, and state government surpluses have given way to shortfalls. These situations raise questions about the state’s ability to meet ambitious climate goals—even given federal investments in climate and clean energy programs through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Amid changing economic and environmental conditions, what do Californians think about climate change and climate policies?
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
2024 could be the hottest year on record. Here’s what that means for California
2023 was the planet’s warmest year on record, coming in 2.12 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average. But California bucked the trend. The state overall was just 0.8 degrees above the 1991-2020 average; some places had near- to below-average temperatures.
There’s a 55% chance that 2024 will be even warmer than 2023, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And for now, California is expected to be in line with this projection.
Seasonal outlooks show that the United States will be warmer than average this summer, though pinpointing exactly how hot is a challenge. Rising temperatures in California in late summer and into fall could prime conditions for potential wildfires.
