Photograph by George Sakkestad The town's new green bicycle lanes were greeted with enthusiasm by local children who say they feel safer now that the lanes are open. There are also green lanes on Blossom Hill Road at Roberts Road. The town is testing four types of materials at three intersections and wants the public to weigh in on their favorite.
The landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) enacted last month is simultaneously the most significant U.S. climate legislation and not nearly enough to put the issue to rest. Climate modelers estimate U.S. emissions will now fall 40% below 2005 levels by 2030. But California still needs to reach its more ambitious goal of net zero by 2045. State and local leaders should implement additional climate policies, particularly around emissions from buildings and transportation, that will leverage the IRA and fill the gaps.
State and local representatives have good policy levers to tackle emissions from buildings that come from burning fossil gas, mostly for space and water heating. The IRA provides incentives to install electric appliances, and there are local incentives, too. Programs for low- to moderate-income households are even more generous and, when combined with local incentives, will cover the extra costs of electric space and water heating in most cases. This should give local policymakers the confidence to require that when owners replace gas appliances, they do so with electric equivalents, and state lawmakers should set an end date for their sale as the California Air Resources Board recently did for fully gas-powered cars. Most households can electrify using existing electrical panels, but for those who need upgrades, the state should ensure low costs and require utilities to respond within days, not months. Additionally, city councils should set an end date for the flow of gas, as Half Moon Bay did when it set an end date of 2045.
Transportation is California’s top emissions source. Policy should encourage people to use climate-friendly modes of transportation as much as possible and to electrify their remaining personal vehicle miles. Cities should continue advocating for robust public transit to minimize wait times and transfers. E-bikes are an environmentally beneficial substitute for cars, and rebates are a cheap and effective intervention; they fell out of the IRA during negotiations, so state and local policymakers should create their own programs. Cities also need networks of slow green streets so bicyclists and pedestrians can move about confident in their safety. Finally, EV charging will be critical, especially for people who live in multi-family housing who also deserve to enjoy the benefits of EVs. Currently, rate plans incentivize charging overnight, but new infrastructure should enable transitioning to daytime charging when renewables are abundant. In the future, EVs will be able to send some of that electricity back to the grid during the evening when we sometimes have flex alerts, enhancing grid resilience.
A number of IRA grant programs are also available, and Californians should get their fair share. They include grants for environmental justice projects in disadvantaged communities, zero emissions school and transit buses, pollution reduction at ports, and urban forests and parks. Finally, our public universities should find ways to access the research funding in the IRA.
From the passage of the IRA to California’s EV transition to the nearly 60 cities and counties in the state that have adopted some form of all-electric building codes, the tide has turned in favor of climate action. The World Health Organization found that the health benefits associated with mitigating the impacts of air pollution alone far outweigh the costs of meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. In a recent survey, the Public Policy Institute of California found that 68% of likely voters favor the state making its own climate policy, separate from the federal government. Climate is a winning issue in California, and the Bay Area and our leaders should seize the initiative. Let’s go!
Chris Frank is a climate action leadership team volunteer with the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter. Kristel Wickham is chair of the Sunnyvale Sustainability Commission and a climate action leadership team lead with the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter. Lauren Weston is executive director of Acterra: Action for a Healthy Planet.
Originally published at Chris Frank, Kristel Wickham, Lauren Weston