Thanks to climate activism across the state, including over 1,000 of The Climate Center’s supporters, a $10-billion climate resilience bond will be on the November ballot. The climate bond, known as Prop 4, includes urgently needed protections against extreme heat, wildfire, sea level rise, and flooding, as well as critical investments in clean water. The bond also includes funding for our farms, natural lands, and waters to build climate resilience.
Prop 4 comes at a pivotal moment. As fires rage and break records across the state, climate impacts are overwhelming our state’s ability to address them. We are paying the price for inadequate investments in proven climate solutions. The signs are all around us: record-breaking and deadly extreme heat, toxic wildfire smoke, severe flooding, and skyrocketing insurance costs due to the mounting risks brought on by these climate impacts. The most tragic part is that communities with the least resources to deal with extreme weather suffer the most — and not just from climate impacts, but also from exposure to the toxic fossil fuel pollution that’s driving the climate crisis.
Two years ago, state leaders committed $54 billion to climate investments. That was laudable, but now lawmakers are cutting the critical funding needed to achieve climate goals. The longer we wait to fund climate solutions, the harder and more expensive it will be.
Polling confirms that a majority of California voters support a climate bond. They want our state government to ensure clean water and air, access to open lands and waters, and healthy, sustainably grown food. Prop 4 will provide the funding to help ensure these basic rights.
Voters deserve a say on climate action, and this November, we will get one. Prop 4 will begin to match California’s investments in climate solutions with the massive scale of the problem. Be sure you’re registered to vote in November and stay tuned for more ways to support critical climate funding.
You can also take action today for a climate-safe future by letting California Air Resources Board Chair Liane Randolph know that you want an equitable phaseout of polluting oil refining in California.
This blog first appeared in The Climate Center’s bi-weekly newsletter. To keep up with the latest climate news and ways to take action for a climate-safe future, subscribe today!
