Sacramento leaders can build climate resilience and our economy. Here’s how | Opinion

The severe storms that battered our state in recent weeks are a stark reminder that climate change isn’t a theory but an active, urgent threat.

Californians who struggle the most in our economy are the hardest hit by dramatic changes in our climate. This is no accident: Decades of systemic racism and classism have led to neglected infrastructure and economic opportunity in communities of color and low-income areas.

Despite this California has an enormous opportunity to improve both climate resilience and economic opportunity. Billions of dollars of federal and state investments are available to expand clean energy, shore up our transit systems, bolster our water infrastructure and create high-quality jobs.

State leaders can use these new funds to rebuild an economy and infrastructure that only benefits some Californians, or we can create a future economy that’s good for all.

Today in Sacramento, we joined leaders from across sectors to discuss the path forward. The Climate Catalyst Conference is a realization that we need a more innovative approach to governance — one that supports investments for community equity and climate and economic resiliency. In partnership with local leaders in the months ahead, our goal is to shape a new community development roadmap that guides policymakers to deploy more equitable and resilient investments in California that reflect local priorities.

Equity is the key word. Historically disadvantaged communities, businesses and workers must be at the center of solutions. With that guiding star, we can rebuild our infrastructure to withstand future challenges and shrink racial wealth gaps.

State and local leaders, who hold the purse strings, should prioritize three things to realize this future.

First, low-income communities must be able to determine what a just transition looks like for them. One model for this is the state’s $600 million Community Economic Resilience Fund, which funds community-driven economic recovery in 13 California regions. Philanthropy, including Sacramento’s Sierra Health Foundation, funded the Community Economic Mobilization Initiative to equip community nonprofits to access and deploy government funding and hold decision-makers accountable for results.

Second, government agencies must ensure that businesses owned by women and people of color get their fair share of procurement spending. It’s heartening that CalTrans, the Port of Long Beach and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California were among the first signers of the national Equity in Infrastructure Pledge, and we hope other agencies follow suit.

Third, we must use these infrastructure and climate investments to create quality jobs, so that Californians paid low wages — who are overwhelmingly women, immigrants and people of color — have a pathway to the middle class. We need a workforce equipped for the jobs of our future economy, such as construction, clean energy, skilled trades and drone technology, which means workforce training and readiness will be crucial.

Building California’s talent pipeline will require opening the doors to apprenticeships for overlooked workers, in partnership with employers who treat their workers with dignity and provide opportunities to advance. Policymakers can partner with these employers and training hubs (like community colleges, nonprofit career pathway programs and unions) to deliver credential and certificate programs for the many jobs needed to build climate-resilient infrastructure throughout the state.

Infrastructure has never been value-neutral. We’ve seen in Sacramento and throughout California that past policy and funding choices leave our neighbors vulnerable today, whether to extreme weather, grinding poverty or both. Public sector leaders must be intentional about doing things differently this time, and we must be relentless in holding them accountable.

This is a historic moment. Our elected leaders must do right by Californians.