2022 is a significant turning point in our movement to stop the climate crisis. According to scientists, we now have just eight years to make the necessary investments in climate action to avoid the most catastrophic consequences of climate change.
As incredible as it sounds, California hasn’t passed meaningful climate policy since 2018! With district lines set to change with redistricting and an election next November, the first few months of 2022 could be our last, best for a while to take a giant step forward in this fight.
Here’s a preview of a few bills we’ll be watching in Sacramento in 2022:
SB 260: The Climate Corporate Accountability Act
This EnviroVoters-sponsored bill, introduced by State Senator Scott Weiner (CA-11), would hold the largest corporate polluters accountable for their outsized contribution to pollution that fuels the climate crisis. The bill specifically targets the most profitable U.S.-based corporations that do business in California and have over $1 billion in annual revenue. It would require that they annually disclose their full carbon footprint in a way that is accessible and understandable to the public. SB 260 needs to pass before the end of January, so be on the lookout for messages from us about urging your representatives to pass it.
SB 342: Environmental Justice Representation on the South Coast AQMD Board
SB 342, sponsored by State Senator Lena Gonzalez (CA-33), would empower community involvement by providing greater representation in decisions about cleaning up toxic air pollution for communities that are disproportionately burdened by high levels of pollution in the South Coast Air Basin. That area, home to half of the state’s population, includes all of Orange County and parts of Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. This bill would add two environmental justice seats to the South Coast Air Quality Management District governing board (the agency that oversees air quality and regulates emissions in that area) and require that those members have a proven history of fighting against environmental racism in low-income communities of color and advocating for environmental justice.
Legislation to End All Offshore Drilling in California State Waters
Oil spills are a visceral and visual reminder of the cost of our dependence on fossil fuels and the price we will be paying for generations to come. The only way to truly prevent them is for our country to shift away from fossil fuels and transition to clean, renewable energy. To that end, we’ll be supporting the bill that State Senator Dave Min (CA-37) plans to introduce that would ban offshore drilling in California waters. It’s well past time for the State Legislature to take up this issue to protect our coastline from oil spills. Otherwise, we’ll continue to see oil spills like the 25,000 gallons in early October that contaminated Huntington and Newport Beaches.
