FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(SACRAMENTO, CA) - As lawmakers returned to Sacramento today to conclude the year’s major policy decisions over the next few weeks, climate and environmental justice leaders held a press conference at the State Capitol demanding lawmakers to stop excluding the public from negotiations with the oil industry in deciding the next 20 years of the state’s Cap-and-Trade program, and to ensure the program invests a more affordable and equitable California.

Lawmakers have not yet released proposals to extend Cap-and-Trade but Governor Newsom announced his plan in May. It keeps oil companies flush with billions of dollars in giveaways – worth $890 million last year with no requirement for providing us with lower gas prices – while wiping out all funds to help California’s most vulnerable people who need help securing clean drinking water, protection from extreme heat, and access to clean energy upgrades. The latter ignores state laws requiring at least 35 percent Cap-and-Trade funds benefit disadvantaged or low income communities and families with low incomes. 

“We all care about affordability, the question is affordability for whom,” said Katie Valenzuela, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Everyday Impact Consulting. “Bailing out billion dollar companies will not help our communities afford gas or groceries. The gaslighting must stop, and the Legislature must consider common-sense, research based strategies to ensure we have the fuel we need without sacrificing our climate and clean air goals.”

“Californians need our leaders to prioritize their needs in Cap & Trade over corporate profit margins,” said Abraham Mendoza, Policy Manager at the Community Water Center. “The Governor’s proposal protects handouts for polluters while zeroing out funding for clean drinking water and cutting investments in clean air and community protections from extreme heat. With 5 weeks left in session, lawmakers cannot exclude us from the negotiating table. We need a shift in course. The next twenty years of climate policy need to have community needs at the forefront rather than be designed by and for the state’s biggest polluters.”

The oil and gas industry is California’s largest source of pollution. With few exceptions, America’s most polluted communities are located in California, from Los Angeles to Long Beach, Bakersfield to Delano, and Fresno to Hanford to Corcoran. Exposure to high levels of pollution causes higher rates of asthma, heart disease, and cancer in communities closest to polluters, more missed days at work and school, and more medical bills. 

“The stakes behind the decisions our leaders make now on Cap-and-Trade and oil industry regulation could not be higher,” said Faraz Rizvi, Policy and Campaign Manager at Asian Pacific Environmental Network. “California’s oil industry includes some of the most profitable companies in the world. They are holding the state hostage to skirt health and safety regulations under the guise it will keep gas prices low. Unfortunately, our leaders seem all too eager to let industry rewrite California’s climate and environmental laws while failing to solve the core problems driving our fuel costs.” 

The groups released a list of demands for lawmakers to reform Cap-and-Trade in ways that secure meaningful protections for environmental justice communities and curb the costs of the climate crisis on California’s working families, including the following reforms:

• Strengthening the program with a stronger cap to put our state’s climate emission reduction goals in reach while generating revenue from polluters to invest in proven affordability and equity programs, such as utility ratepayer credits

• Eliminating subsidies for the state’s oil and gas industry

• Prioritizing significant investments for low income families and environmental justice communities.

“Inequality and wealth disparities widen as the climate crisis tightens its grip on California. The legislature and governor must strengthen and reform Cap-and-Trade to meet this affordability challenge and build a more equitable future, especially for low-income communities already burdened by pollution,” said Asha Sharma, State Policy Manager at Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability. “California can’t continue giving polluters a pass in the next twenty years of climate policy. We need emissions reductions in real life, not on paper. Billions in giveaways to Big Oil would be better spent in communities that need help now.”

“At a time when the federal government is proposing to cut funding for clean water, our communities need our leaders in Sacramento to protect us and prioritize investments in programs that do good for our communities,” said Maria Luisa Muñoz, AGUA coalition member and former SAFER Advisory Group member. “I’ve seen first hand how a need as basic as water has seen investments from Cap and Trade through SAFER really empowering communities to invest in safe water infrastructure. This is the direction we need.”

ABOUT CAP AND TRADE 

Under current law, Cap-and-Trade is authorized until 2030. Instead of requiring major polluters to cut climate-warming emissions, Cap-and-Trade allows them to pay for their pollution under a cap that declines over time. Operating since 2012, this revenue has supported $12.8 billion in projects such as providing safe and affordable drinking water, offsetting costs for home energy efficiency upgrades or the purchase of a zero-emission car, and credits on our utility bills.

Polluters weakened Cap-and-Trade when it was last reauthorized, in 2017, primarily by turning subsidized pollution rights for industries at risk of leaving the state into pork for polluters. Big Oil was the big winner of this giveaway, worth $890 million in pollution freebies last year alone.

Governor Newsom aims to extend Cap-and-Trade for 20 years, which aligns with the timeline of a state law he signed requiring California to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.

Learn more at www.StopGaslightingCA.org.

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