Governor Newsom has responded to the catastrophe of the fires by issuing two executive orders. In the first he said only emission free cars can be sold after 2035 and that we will ask the Legislature to ban fracking for oil. In the second, he instructed all state agencies to work together to conserve at least 30 percent of California’s land and coastal waters by 2030 in order to protect biodiversity, build resilience and fight climate change. These executive orders appear below.<\/p>\n
A number of 350 chapters are in turn responding to these executive orders with a letter to Governor Newsom, a draft of which is below. 350 Humboldt is asking you to send a letter to one or more of the agency heads that are involved in implementing these policies. You can pick any point or points from the letter to Governor Newsom to advocate for or reinforce (or from the executive actions). Pick what seems most important to you. The addresses addresses of the agency heads are above the letter to Governor Newsom.<\/p>\n
While our primary goal is to thank government officials for taking significant actions and to push for more, we also want to support ourselves. So, if you can, join the 350 Humboldt letter-writing party at 7pm today, Sunday November 1 at this URL:<\/p>\n
https:\/\/us02web.zoom.us\/j\/85643874306?pwd=Tm1yeXJBVVhWMGt5ZjZXVTVYbGFoZz09<\/a><\/p>\n Thanks,<\/p>\n Dan Chandler for 350 Humboldt<\/p>\n Governor Newsom: 1303 10th Street, Suite 1173 Wade Crowfoot: Director, California Natural Resources Agency David Shabazian, Director, Dept. of Conservation 801 K Street, MS 24-01 Uduak-Joe Ntuk: California Geologic Energy Management Division<\/em> 801 K Street, MS 24-01. \u00a0Sacramento, CA 95814 [Manages CalGEMS] CalGEM Headquarters<\/a><\/p>\n Jared Blumenfeld: Secretary for Environmental Protection 1001 I Street, P.O. Box 2815, Sacramento, CA 95812-2815 [Oversees CA Air Resources Board, CalRecycle, and water quality. Cap and trade is under CARB.]<\/p>\n Dear Governor Newsom:<\/p>\n (cc: Wade Crowfoot, Secretary for Natural Resources; Jared Blumenfeld, Secretary for Environmental Protection, David Shabazian, Director, Dept. of Conservation; Uduak-Joe Ntuk, State Oil and Gas Supervisor, CalGEM; Kate Gordon, Director, Governor\u2019s Office of Planning and Research<\/p>\n The organizations signing this letter welcome your Executive Order N-79-20, concerning oil drilling and site remediation. We look forward to working with you, your executive agencies, and the legislature to realize and implement the policies this order requires.<\/p>\n We echo your strong statement of intent to move our state away from fossil fuels\u2014oil, specifically\u2014and toward a low-carbon future.<\/p>\n At the same time, we eagerly await a subsequent Order to N-79-20, which is sorely needed to address fossil gas in the same comprehensive way.<\/p>\n Please consider a few of our priorities, and some suggestions:<\/p>\n 1. \u00a0 \u00a0 Similar to your order that regulatory agencies \u201crepurpose and transition\u201d oil production facilities in the state, we also need to quickly ramp down, and ultimately eliminate, the production, storage, transport, and use of fossil gas, with its attendant methane releases.<\/p>\n a. \u00a0 \u00a0 Gas storage facilities near residential neighborhoods, such as Aliso Canyon and Playa del Rey, must be decommissioned in the near term.<\/strong><\/p>\n b. \u00a0 \u00a0 The fracking ban you ask the Legislature to mandate in law must extend to fracked gas, not just oil. <\/strong>As you know, passage of such a ban will require all-in support from you and all affected agencies as well as legislators. We learned from the defeat of AB 345 in committee this year, a bill banning fracking will need emphatic public support from you, the Department of Conservation, and CalGEM.<\/p>\n c. \u00a0 \u00a0 While electrifying transportation is critical, building electrification is also essential.<\/strong> We look forward to an Executive Order that will direct the California Energy Commission to revise the state building code to eliminate fossil gas hookups in new construction and initiate planning for retrofit of existing buildings, with subsidies and incentives for rapid electrification in lower-income communities.<\/p>\n i. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 San Jos\u00e9, San Francisco, and 37 other cities and two counties in California have passed Reach Codes that limit fossil gas in most new construction. PG&E has also come out in favor of eliminating gas in new construction. The state is ready now for such an Executive Order, in part because it\u2019s less expensive to build without installing both electric and gas utilities.<\/p>\n ii. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 If there is a way, based on the climate emergency the state faces, to revise the building code before the 2023 effective date for the next scheduled update, we will actively support that change.<\/p>\n 2. \u00a0 \u00a0 Environmental justice and climate action groups around the state prioritized AB 345 in 2020. This bill would have required CalGEM to consider 2500 ft. buffers between oil or gas operations and homes, schools, <\/strong>parks and other places where children are present.<\/strong> The communities suffering severe public health effects from these sources of pollution need you to be specific in your instructions to CalGEM that the agency assure effective public health buffers<\/strong>. We believe a 2500 ft. buffer is necessary to protect \u201ccommunities and workers from the impacts of oil extraction.\u201d<\/em> 3. \u00a0 \u00a0 We believe the timelines for action you set out in N-79-20 are reasonable, but California needs to get to decarbonization even faster. We support acceleration of the target dates <\/strong>you set for achieving zero emission passenger cars and trucks; medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, trucks, and buses; drayage trucks; and off-road vehicles and equipment. In each case we urge you to set interim benchmark targets so that regulators and the public can evaluate progress and set stretch goals.<\/strong> 4. \u00a0 \u00a0 Since the actions in your order work together to accelerate electrification, we will need to generate more clean electricity sooner. The SB 100 target date for 100 percent clean electricity in California must be moved up to 2035.<\/strong> a. \u00a0 \u00a0 Moving up the target date will require strong, specific policies that increase distributed<\/em> renewable generation expeditiously and incentivize both large-scale battery storage and vehicle-to-grid technology. b. \u00a0 \u00a0 2035 conforms to our future President Biden\u2019s climate plan. California must not lag behind federal goals. 5. \u00a0 \u00a0 Finally, it is clear to all that significant budget deficits are likely to continue for at least a few years\u2014the same years when we need urgently to be funding the programs you demand and investing in the just transition to a de-carbonized economy. We need new revenue sources to expedite the transition away from gasoline cars and fossil-gas powered buildings and aid Californians through that transition. <\/strong>To that end we urge you to work with the legislature to develop new revenue streams dedicated to addressing climate change and supporting the just transition. a. \u00a0 \u00a0 Can California enact an oil severance tax?<\/strong> We believe this is the year to do so. The fossil fuel industry has long profited from selling the state\u2019s underground energy resources. The industry must own up to its responsibility and use a portion of the proceeds from selling these resources to pay for the transition to a renewable energy economy. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 i. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 All of the revenues from an oil severance tax must go to renewable energy development and infrastructure, following a plan that will sunset when the transition to clean energy sources is complete. This will front-load benefits to the just transition and eliminate the danger of public good enterprises becoming \u201caddicted\u201d to this revenue source. b. \u00a0 \u00a0 The deficit requires that we tap into other potential revenue sources linked to fossil fuel use and emissions, while ensuring that new taxes do not place undue burdens on low-income residents. The state might consider, for example, higher excise taxes on late model, low-mileage gasoline-powered vehicles (and\/or lower taxes on EVs); increased airport fees; and significant annual fees on idle or unremediated oil and gas well sites. c. \u00a0 \u00a0 California\u2019s cap and trade program must be reformed to be a more just and effective mechanism<\/strong> that will achieve emissions reduction on an expedited schedule, while also protecting communities from pollution. A realistic, science-based social cost of carbon<\/a> must be used in setting any carbon price. Revising cap and trade will require your active participation and support: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 i. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The price of allowances must increase more rapidly, and approach $300 per ton by 2030 or earlier. (see reference linked above) \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 ii. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Regulators at all levels must be allowed to limit local pollution, including CO2<\/sub> . \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 iii. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 We must assure support and retraining of oil and gas workers through the transition to renewable energy. d. \u00a0 \u00a0 We urge you to ask the Attorney General to join several California municipalities and a growing number of other states in initiating legal action against oil companies, suing for both consumer fraud and climate harms<\/strong>. Municipal governments will never have enough money to mitigate and adapt to climate damage; consequently the polluters must be held accountable for the harms they have caused for our people and our communities. The world greeted your Executive Order with relief, glad to see the fifth largest economy on the planet take on climate change directly when our national government has removed itself from the conversation. Your order gives heart to nations struggling with their Paris commitments while also suffering under a pandemic. Here at home California is once again offering a lead that other states can, and will, follow. Executive Order N-79-20 is a great first step toward the action we need. Please know that we support you and will urge you to do even more to lead our state in effective, timely, and just climate action. We will be happy to meet with you or your staff to discuss these ideas, and learn how we can be most helpful in expediting the changes our state so desperately needs. Sincerely,<\/em><\/p>\n EXECUTIVE ORDERS<\/span><\/p>\n SACRAMENTO \u2013 As climate change and habitat loss continue to threaten California\u2019s ecosystems and native species, Governor Gavin Newsom today signed an executive order<\/a> directing state agencies to accelerate actions to combat climate change, protect biodiversity and build resilience through nature-based solutions.<\/p>\n The order establishes a state goal of conserving at least 30 percent of California\u2019s land and coastal waters by 2030 to address the biodiversity and climate crisis. The 30 by 30 commitment has been championed internationally and is supported by a concerted United Nations effort.<\/p>\n \u201cThis historic announcement makes California the first state to commit to 30 by 30 to protect biodiversity and address the climate crisis,\u201d California Secretary for Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot said. \u201cWe join 38 nations in this commitment to conservation. It\u2019s an ambitious goal, but it\u2019s also an achievable one. With climate-driven impacts such as catastrophic wildfires and extreme heat putting our biodiversity at risk, we can and should do more to protect this natural richness into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n The order also elevates the role of natural and working lands as a key pillar of California\u2019s climate change strategy, committing the state to immediate actions to increase carbon removal and enhance resilience in our forests, wetlands, agricultural soils, urban greenspaces, and land conservation efforts. It also commits to developing a comprehensive and equitable long-term strategy to drive climate action on all of California\u2019s natural and working lands and articulating a target for the lands sector in the 2022 Scoping Plan to achieve our carbon neutrality target.<\/p>\n As part of the order, the California Natural Resources Agency today launched the California Biodiversity Collaborative<\/a> to develop a statewide and equitable approach to protecting the state\u2019s natural richness.<\/p>\n Recognizing that California is a global \u201cbiodiversity hotspot\u201d \u2013 one of 36 places on Earth with exceptional concentrations of native species that are exeriencing unprecedented challenges \u2013 the order calls on state agencies to establish an international model for preserving biodiversity and expand current efforts to keep ecosystems, plants and animals healthy.<\/p>\n The California Biodiversity Collaborative will bring together experts, leaders and communities to pursue a unified approach to protecting biodiversity and enable diverse groups to work with state agencies to inventory current efforts across all sectors and expand information and tools to monitor, track and preserve biodiversity.<\/p>\n Published: Sep 23, 2020<\/p>\n Executive order directs state to require that, by 2035, all new cars and passenger trucks sold in California be zero-emission vehicles <\/em><\/p>\n Transportation currently accounts for more than 50 percent of California\u2019s Greenhouse Gas Emissions \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Zero-emission vehicles are a key part of California\u2019s clean, innovation economy \u2013 already California\u2019s second largest global export market \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Order also directs the state to take more actions to tackle the dirtiest oil extraction and support workers and job retention and creation as we make a just transition away from fossil fuels \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n SACRAMENTO \u2013 Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that he will aggressively move the state further away from its reliance on climate change-causing fossil fuels while retaining and creating jobs and spurring economic growth \u2013 he issued an executive order requiring sales of all new passenger vehicles to be zero-emission by 2035 and additional measures to eliminate harmful emissions from the transportation sector.<\/p>\n The transportation sector is responsible for more than half of all of California\u2019s carbon pollution, 80 percent of smog-forming pollution and 95 percent of toxic diesel emissions \u2013 all while communities in the Los Angeles Basin and Central Valley see some of the dirtiest and most toxic air in the country.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the most impactful step our state can take to fight climate change,\u201d said Governor Newsom. \u201cFor too many decades, we have allowed cars to pollute the air that our children and families breathe. Californians shouldn\u2019t have to worry if our cars are giving our kids asthma. Our cars shouldn\u2019t make wildfires worse \u2013 and create more days filled with smoky air. Cars shouldn\u2019t melt glaciers or raise sea levels threatening our cherished beaches and coastlines.\u201d<\/p>\n Following the order, the California Air Resources Board will develop regulations to mandate that 100 percent of in-state sales of new passenger cars and trucks are zero-emission by 2035 \u2013 a target which would achieve more than a 35 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and an 80 percent improvement in oxides of nitrogen emissions from cars statewide. In addition, the Air Resources Board will develop regulations to mandate that all operations of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles shall be 100 percent zero emission by 2045 where feasible, with the mandate going into effect by 2035 for drayage trucks. To ensure needed infrastructure to support zero-emission vehicles, the order requires state agencies, in partnership with the private sector, to accelerate deployment of affordable fueling and charging options. It also requires support of new and used zero-emission vehicle markets to provide broad accessibility to zero-emission vehicles for all Californians. The executive order will not prevent Californians from owning gasoline-powered cars or selling them on the used car market.<\/p>\n California will be leading the nation in this effort \u2013 joining 15 countries that have already committed to phase out gasoline-powered cars and using our market power to push zero-emission vehicle innovation and drive down costs for everyone.<\/p>\n By the time the new rule goes into effect, zero-emission vehicles will almost certainly be cheaper and better than the traditional fossil fuel powered cars. The upfront cost of electric vehicles are projected to reach parity with conventional vehicles in just a matter<\/a> of years, and the cost of owning the car \u2013 both in maintenance and how much it costs to power the car mile for mile \u2013 is far less than a fossil fuel burning vehicle.<\/p>\n The executive order sets clear deliverables for new health and safety regulations that protect workers and communities from the impacts of oil extraction. It supports companies who transition their upstream and downstream oil production operations to cleaner alternatives. It also directs the state to make sure taxpayers are not stuck with the bill to safely close and remediate former oil fields. To protect the health and safety of our communities and workers, the Governor is also asking the Legislature to end the issuance of new hydraulic fracturing permits by 2024.<\/p>\n The executive order directs state agencies to develop strategies for an integrated, statewide rail and transit network, and incorporate safe and accessible infrastructure into projects to support bicycle and pedestrian options, particularly in low-income and disadvantaged communities.<\/p>\n The text of today\u2019s executive order can be found here<\/a> and a copy can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n This action continues the Governor\u2019s commitment to strengthening California\u2019s resilience while lowering carbon emissions \u2013 essential to meeting California\u2019s air quality and climate goals. In the last six months alone, the California Air Resources Board has approved new regulations requiring truck manufacturers to transition to electric zero-emission trucks beginning in 2024 and the Governor signed an MOU with 14 other states to advance and accelerate the market for electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Last fall, California led a multi-state coalition in filing a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s attempt to revoke portions of a 2013 waiver that allows the state to implement its Advanced Clean Car Standards.<\/p>\n Last September, Governor Newsom took action<\/a> to leverage the state\u2019s transportation systems and purchasing power to strengthen climate mitigation and resiliency and to measure and manage climate risks across the state\u2019s $700 billion pension investments. To mitigate climate threats to our communities and increase carbon sequestration, the Governor invested in forest health and fuel reduction<\/a> and held utilities accountable for building resiliency. The Governor also directed state agencies to develop a comprehensive strategy to build a climate-resilient water system<\/a> and made a historic investment to develop the workforce<\/a> for California\u2019s future carbon-neutral economy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Governor Newsom has responded to the catastrophe of the fires by issuing two executive orders. In the first he said…<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1252,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-emails-to-members"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAgency heads:<\/h4>\n
\nSacramento, CA, 95814<\/p>\n
\n1416 Ninth Street, Suite 1311
\nSacramento, CA 95814 C\/O [Manages biodiversity, forest resources, climate change]<\/p>\n
\nSacramento, CA 95814 [Oversees several agencies including CalGEM Division below.]<\/p>\nLETTER FROM 350 CHAPTERS TO GOVERNOR NEWSOM<\/h3>\n
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\n<\/em><\/p>\nGovernor Newsom Announces California Will Phase Out Gasoline-Powered Cars & Drastically Reduce Demand for Fossil Fuel in California\u2019s Fight Against Climate Change<\/h6>\n