Climate-Safe California Campaign Reaches 1,000 Endorsements

SANTA ROSA, Calif., March 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 1,000 elected officials, business leaders, academics, organizations and community members have now endorsed The Climate Center's Climate-Safe California campaign.

By endorsing, they are sending a message that they want California to aggressively tackle the climate crisis with big investments now– for a restorative economy with climate justice and a just transition for workers in the oil and gas industry.

Recent studies contain a stark warning: inaction or inadequate climate action is enormously costly in terms of lives and dollars. Indeed, we are now expected to pass the 1.5C dangerous warming threshold in the next 10 years. 

Once a global climate leader, California, the world's fifth largest economy, is falling seriously behind. We are behind the European Union, the United Kingdom, and even Rhode Island. 

But as goes California, so goes the world. California can regain its global climate leadership with bold, equitable, and aggressive action by Governor Newsom and state policymakers. 

The state can and must accelerate state climate policy goals to achieve net-negative emissions– absorbing more carbon than we are emitting—by 2030. This means moving up current state targets by 15 years, from 2045 to 2030.

"Our current state goal of achieving carbon neutrality and then net-negative emissions by 2045 is simply too late," said Ellie Cohen, CEO of The Climate Center. "As more than 1,000 endorsers agree, state decision makers must accelerate climate policy timelines, prioritizing major investments now to secure an equitable and vibrant climate-safe future for all."

The 2020 California wildfires killed 32 people directly with as many as 3,000 older people dead from several weeks of exposure to toxic smoke. California suffered $150 billion in damages from the 2018 wildfires alone (equal to ⅔ of the annual state budget) and $80 billion in 2019. That same $80 billion invested in climate mitigation and adaptation in California could generate about 725,000 jobs. In fact, investments in clean energy generate more than two times as many jobs as investments in fossil fuels.

California's fossil fuel economy is sickening and killing Californians every day, not just during fire season. More than seven million residents live within one mile of oil or gas facilities, most of whom are lower-income and disproportionately impacted by regular exposure to toxins from fossil fuel development, production and use. These frontline communities are also more vulnerable to climate impacts such as heatwaves, drought, floods, and food insecurity.  

See full press release here.

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SOURCE The Climate Center