I am writing to urge you to strengthen and improve the
Draft 2022 Scoping Plan Update. 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.
Two parts in particular lead in the wrong direction of
expanding use of fossil fuels. 1) Expanding LNG will lead to
more CO2 by combustion, and more methane will be inevitably
released. To say that LNG will fill the near-time energy gap, also
carries with that these facilities will become stranded
assets. 2) To plan that Direct Carbon Capture technology will
be able to remove 110 MMT of CO2 by 2045 is wishful thinking with
no present evidence to support it.
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. Thank you for your
consideration.