We know that all actions we take
now will do more to improve climate outcomes than actions we
promise to take in the future. I am disappointed that the Draft Scoping Plan fails to
accelerate the targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40%
below 1990 levels by 2030 or to achieve carbon neutrality no
earlier than 2045. It is simply not good enough to meet the urgency
of the climate crisis and the desperate need for bold actions. CARB
must achieve a more ambitious Scoping Plan that leads to an
accelerated pathway to carbon neutrality so that the state’s
40 million residents and future generations of Californians can
live in and thrive in a cleaner and healthier
environment. Scientists have increasingly raised the
alarm that this decade is our last chance to make significant and
meaningful changes in our transportation, energy, building, and
other major infrastructure to prevent an irreversible climate
catastrophe.
I strongly urge the California
Air Resources Board to adopt a more ambitious plan on how our state
will combat the most catastrophic impacts of climate change in the
crucial years ahead. To accomplish this, CARB must improve the
Draft Scoping Plan by accelerating a phase-out of oil and gas
extraction and oil refining; not making any more investment in
fossil fuel infrastructure; eliminating or significantly reducing
our reliance on unproven and costly technologies to prolong
polluting fuel sources; pursuing more robust transportation sector
targets; and decarbonizing buildings. The escalating climate crisis
demands that CARB adopts a more ambitious Scoping Plan, one with
the vision and conviction to provide the solutions that are needed
to overcome the crisis that we face. I urge you to strengthen
and improve the Draft 2022 Scoping Plan Update.Thank you for your
consideration.
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