Dear Board
Members:
I strongly urge you to
strengthen and improve the Draft 2022 Scoping Plan Update.
Thousands of climate cientists have increasingly and loudly raised
the alarm that only a few years remain for us to make significant
and meaningful changes in our society, including transportation,
energy, agriculture, building, and other major areas of industry
and infrastructure to prevent an irreversible climate
catastrophe. That is right - an irreversible climate
catastrophe! With the stakes this high, I am very
disappointed that the Draft Scoping Plan fails to accelerate the
targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels
by 2030 (or earlier) or to achieve carbon neutrality no earlier
than 2045. These targets are simply not good enough to meet the
urgency of the climate crisis and the desperate need for bold
actions. CARB must put forward and achieve a more ambitious Scoping
Plan that accelerates the pathway to carbon neutrality! This
is required if we want the state’s 40 million residents and
future generations of Californians to live in and thrive in a
cleaner and healthier environment. The window of opportunity
is quickly closing!
I strongly urge the
California Air Resources Board to adopt a more ambitious plan for
how our state will combat the most catastrophic impacts of climate
change in the crucial few years ahead. To accomplish this,
CARB must greatly improve the Draft Scoping Plan by accelerating a
phase-out of oil and gas extraction and oil refining; by not making
any more investment in fossil fuel infrastructure; by eliminating
or significantly reducing our reliance on unproven and costly
technologies such as carbon capture to prolong polluting fuel
sources; by pursuing more robust transportation sector targets; and
decarbonizing buildings. The escalating climate crisis demands that
CARB adopts a Scoping Plan in line with the urgency of our climate
situation, one with the vision and conviction to provide the
solutions that are needed to overcome the crisis that we face
within the next decade. Thank you for your
consideration.
Most
sincerely,
Ward Hinds MD,
MPH
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