Model and Strategy
As Governor Newsom said last fall, “we are in a climate damn emergency” and state policies are inadequate. Our economy, ecosystems, and well-being are severely threatened. California, the world’s fifth-largest economy, was once at the forefront of climate action but is now banking on outdated policies in the face of an exploding crisis. The unprecedented scope of the 2020 wildfires and toxic smoke storms epitomize the climate’s rapid deterioration.
It’s time for the state to retake its climate leadership and enact the bold policies required by science to secure an equitable, climate-safe future for all. To achieve this urgent vision, we launched Climate-Safe California to fill a major gap in California’s climate movement. We are mobilizing across diverse sectors and geographies, and collaborating with lawmakers, to accelerate state climate goals commensurate with the accelerating crisis and achieve net-negative emissions by 2030.
We are driving state decision-makers to enact equitable, science-based climate policies that will dramatically cut emissions, increase nature-based sequestration, and secure resilient communities for everyone, catalyzing national and global action.
Impact
Over the next two years California will enact key policies that accelerate climate action at scale due to the Climate-Safe California campaign.
The following policies, crafted by The Climate Center and diverse partners, will be enacted or on the path to enactment as a result of our leadership. These policies will be based on the latest science, support a just-transition for fossil fuel workers and communities, and prioritize climate justice. They include:
- Accelerate state climate targets to 80% below 1990 GHG levels and net-negative emissions by 2030
- Implement nature-based sequestration at scale through soils and vegetation
- Empower local governments to plan/implement resilient clean energy systems, prioritizing disadvantaged communities
- Change utility regulations to spur decentralized, clean energy production, storage and sales
Market forces should respond quickly, accelerating solutions beyond California. For example, in response to the Governor’s order for 100% zero emission vehicle (ZEV) sales by 2035, GM committed just 4 months later to producing only ZEV’s by 2035.
We envision numerous climate-friendly impacts from our collective work:
- Clean energy community microgrids with storage established in every community; power outages essentially obsolete; resilience and potential income for lower-income communities
- All-electric new buildings, phase out methane gas
- No new oil drilling and fracking
- Soil and habitat restoration at scale, vastly increasing water and food security, farmers’ bottom lines, and healthier environments
- Many no longer need private vehicles with major increase in sustainable mobility (eg e-bikes, electric public transit and transport systems)
- Climate-friendly land-use; reduced urban sprawl
- Thriving communities for all
Leadership
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Ellie Cohen
CEO
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Destiny Rodriguez
Community Relations Manager, Central Valley