Making climate change policy work for EJ communities
On Monday Aug 12th, CEJA showed up at the Capitol to push for climate change laws that will protect our most impacted communities and ensure they see the benefit of greenhouse gas reductions. We want clean energy and climate solutions in our communities, we want to see reductions in the toxic chemicals that clog our lungs, and we want an end to false climate solutions like the REDD program. SB 605, authored by Senator Lara, helps us achieve all that! Check out the CEJA team & the incredible crew of APEN members at the Assembly Natural Resources Committee hearing. SB 605 passed out of the committee and is now headed to Assembly Appropriations. More info on SB 605 below!
As CEJA member Mari Rose Taruc of APEN says, “Residents of overburdened communities have voted for and demanded a healthier California through our climate laws; we need to invest in programs that get us there sooner rather than later.”
What does SB 605 do?
Check out the full Fact Sheet and this great flier from Physicians for Social Responsibility LA!
- It will strengthens AB 32 to give more attention to toxic pollution – the stuff that causes asthma, birth defects and other health problems. This means cleaner air and less money lost to preventable medical expenses and lost work days.
- This year, the Governor “borrowed” $500 million in anticipated cap-and-trade revenue that was supposed to go to climate solution projects in communities of color through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. If the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund takes in more money that the state borrowed this year, SB 605 ensures that up to $125 million of clean-energy investments will go to disadvantaged communities. It puts the neighborhoods most in need of clean air and good jobs at the front of the line.
- If polluters use offsets to meet their obligations to reduce carbon, SB 605 prioritizes those offsets in California where greenhouse gas emissions are actually occurring and prohibits international offsets.
