Dear
California Air Resources Board,
The draft 2022
Scoping Plan is appalling and needs serious revamping that provides
robust, critically thought out, clean and equitable, solutions to
the colossal threat of clean air standards and climate change. This
is an incredible opportunity to work as together as a state to
ensure domestic clean energy solutions, and thus energy security,
well paying jobs in the renewable energy sector, and an opportunity
to listen to and assist communities suffering from environmental
and social injustice.
California has
the chance to be a clean air and climate leader. The movement away
from fossil fuels is a when, not an if, question. It is a problem
that is so multifaceted and prevalent that we need ample time to
address this issue in an equitable manner. It will take courage and
bravery to start this conversation; it will be one of friction and
disagreement, but it is one that can be fruitful and one that is
necessary for a habitable Earth and a just future for all.
The world deserves clean air and a future beyond oil and
gas and California is in an optimal position to spearhead this
reality. But the draft 2022 Scoping Plan is a huge step backward
for California, doubling down on fossil fuel infrastructure at a
time when we need to be phasing out fossil fuels. California can do
so much better than this.
In this
year’s Scoping Plan, we have an opportunity to commit
California to bold action. I am calling on you include the
following as priorities in the 2022 Climate Change Scoping
Plan:
1. A full,
coordinated phase out of fossil fuels, with targets for oil
refining by 2045, oil and gas extraction by 2035, and a clean
electric grid by 2035.
2.
Accelerate and scale up investments in clean vehicles and mass
transit for working class Californians.
3.
Eliminate reliance on climate policy dead ends like Carbon Capture
and Storage (CCS) on polluting fuel sources.
Will you
help California achieve our climate goals by including the
priorities above in this year’s Scoping Plan?
Thanks,
Katherine
Lane