Testimony: California needs a more climate-friendly budget

“While we all expected a tough budget year, the governor’s recent budget proposal unfortunately assigned some of its biggest cuts to the environment, climate, and zero emission vehicles. 

The proposal would cut a critical $6 billion in investments meant to stave off the worst impacts of the climate crisis in California, including cuts to clean energy programs, zero emission vehicle incentives, and clean transportation funds.

The state has recently passed important climate legislation, but we’re concerned that not enough resources have been committed to implement these programs and ultimately achieve our bold climate goals.

Investments in climate are now more crucial than ever. Just in the last several months we’ve felt extreme weather including heat waves, intense rain, and flooding. Unless we keep our climate investments strong, these impacts will only escalate in the future. 

I urge you to sign a more climate-friendly budget that sets us on a brighter path and better reflects the scale of current and future climate impacts.”

Environment California is part of the Invest in Clean Air coalition. Read more about our efforts to invest in clean air and maximize funds for California’s clean car programs.