The Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act, introduced as SB 684 (Menjivar) in the Senate and AB 1243 (Addis) in the Assembly, would ensure that polluters pay their fair share for the climate damage they have caused in California. The firestorm in Los Angeles is only the latest in a string of unprecedented climate disasters that … Read more
California’s 2025-2026 state budget includes $273 million in cuts to climate and energy investments but protects huge tax breaks for oil and gas corporations. After unprecedented wildfires ravaged Los Angeles only days into 2025, California must strengthen critical climate programs, not cut them. Every dollar we invest in fighting the climate crisis today will save … Read more
Facing a multi-billion-dollar budget deficit, California walked back critical investments in a climate-safe future. The best pathway we have to protecting climate resilience programs across the state is to introduce a robust, equitable climate bond on November’s ballot. We must act at the speed and scale the climate crisis demands, which means that we cannot … Read more
Updated May 13, 2024. In 2023, Governor Newsom signed landmark climate laws to set stricter standards for corporate polluters. SB 253 and SB 261 are two first-in-the-nation laws that require major corporations doing business in California to report the full scope of their climate pollution and their climate-related financial risk. Huge corporations mounted fierce opposition … Read more
Big Oil is pushing to greenlight the first-ever carbon capture and storage scam in California. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) prolongs the burning of fossil fuels and poses serious public health risks, despite Big Oil falsely advertising it as a climate solution. These projects have consistently proven ineffective, unsafe, and expensive. Fossil fuel corporations claim … Read more
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state legislature enacted new processes that allow Californians to participate in legislative hearings by phone. During public comment, constituents can share their support for or opposition to bills under discussion, a process known as “me too’s.” Californians across the state have an opportunity to participate in the … Read more
Climate solutions on farms, ranches, wetlands, forests, and more have the potential to draw down existing climate pollution and store it in soils and biomass while promoting food and water security and biodiversity. Out of California’s 105 million acres of land, approximately 90 percent has the potential to store planet-warming carbon. Thanks to AB 1757 … Read more
by Karen Ross and Michael Delbar, Cal Matters Highlights New analysis from UC Berkeley found that 300,000 acres of protected rangeland can provide up to $1.4 billion a year in ecosystem benefits and that every dollar spent to protect working rangeland returned $3.43 on the investment in ecosystem benefits Managed grazing can help sequester carbon … Read more
by Fiona Harvey, Grist Highlights According to a new study, restoration of Earth’s most degraded areas along with protections for areas still in good condition would help store an amount of carbon equivalent to half of all human-related greenhouse gas emissions since the industrial revolution Restoration and protection would prevent 70% of anticipated species extinctions … Read more
by Shannon Osaka, Grist Highlights Preventing forest destruction, ending wildlife trading, and surveillance measures on emerging diseases before they spread are the tactics scientists are hoping will prevent the next pandemic, as published in the nature journal Science Forest destruction, particularly in tropical areas, causes animals to venture into human-populated areas in search of a … Read more
