Hello,
Last summer, Governor Gavin Newsom recognized the urgency of our
climate crisis and asked CARB to evaluate pathways for the state to
achieve carbon neutrality by 2035, including strategies to reduce
fossil fuel demand and supply.
CARB came back with a disappointing plan that fails to meet the
moment. There are numerous problems with the current plan, from
legal and scientific issues to failures of addressing environmental
justice. It promotes unsustainable half-measures like carbon
capture and sequestration, cap and trade, and other problematic
market-based strategies rather than the direct regulation that is
needed to mitigate further climate catastrophes.
The Draft Scoping Plan recommends delaying achieving carbon
neutrality until 2045 and recommends little to no immediate action
to reduce pollution. It only proposes to reduce 80% of emissions by
that time and proposes to use direct air capture (DAC) to make up
for the last 20%. So it is a very conservative plan that puts
California in with the countries that are waffling on their
commitments.
The science is clear: California cannot wait until 2045 to
achieve carbon neutrality if we want to have a chance at
slowing the climate crisis. California’s goal should be at
least an 80% reduction in emissions by 2030. The Environmental
Justice Advisory Council (EJAC) has demanded faster and more
comprehensive measures than in the draft plan so as to protect
disadvantaged communities, particularly those suffering from air
pollution.
California must be a leader in the response to our ongoing
climate crisis and mass extinction event caused by humanity's
addiction to fossil fuels. We must act decisively, immediately, and
comprehensively. Please do the right thing for the next seven
generations of life on Earth.
Thank you,
Greg