California needs to update its energy infrastructure and protect the environment in 2020

Note to readers: Each week through December 2019, a selection of our 101 California Influencers answers a question that is critical to California’s future. Topics include education, healthcare, environment, housing and economic growth.

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It wasn’t too long ago that any discussion of environmental and energy policy in California would have been dominated by the long-term impacts of climate change. But the last few years of devastating wildfires have dramatically altered that conversation in and around the State Capitol.

“California is a 21st century economy with a 20th century electric grid,” said Sacramento public affairs specialist Lea Ann Tratten. “High heat and winds and improper maintenance of energy lines have caused destruction to communities across the state. We must rethink how we deliver energy while investing heavily to prevent future wildfires.”

Rex Frazier, president of the Personal Insurance Federation of California, also stressed the wildfires’ impact on the state’s ability to meet long-term climate change goals.

“The most important priority should be to reduce, quickly, the number of utility-caused wildfires that can cause more carbon release in a week than the annual emissions reductions from California’s green energy initiatives,” Frazier said. “System hardening and upgrades will not happen overnight, but real improvements need to happen before next fire season so that individuals, businesses and governments can get some relief from these life-changing, preventable disasters.”

Resources Legacy Fund President Michael Mantell called for voter passage of a multi-billion dollar bond in 2020 to fund wildfire prevention measures as the centerpiece of broader climate mitigation.

“California leads the nation in responding to climate change, committed to removing greenhouse gas emissions from one of the world’s largest economies. It is time for the state’s leaders to put the same focus on making California’s communities more resilient in the face of climate impacts that are already occurring,” Mantell said. “A climate resilience bond would fund forest restoration and other actions to reduce risk of catastrophic wildfire.”

Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) represents the town of Paradise that was ravaged by last year’s catastrophic Camp Fire. He and a legislative colleague are seeking additional funding from the state’s utilities to protect at-risk communities.

“Senator (Jim) Nielsen and I will be introducing legislation that seeks to reprioritize existing utility funds so that more money goes into updating and hardening infrastructure,” Gallagher said. “We also will seek to put more dollars into forestry and vegetation management practices that reduce more carbon emissions per dollar spent and keep our landscapes fire safe.”

Other Influencers described the threat of wildfires in the context of a larger set of environmental and energy challenges.

“In this context, wildfires and PSPS (public safety power shutoffs) are symptoms of our policy failures – not the root cause,” said Senator Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys). “We must encourage massive statewide investment… to update our infrastructure and grid, with a focus on job training, and push for better integration of our transportation, environmental, and energy goals.”

Former State Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de Leon, also focused on more expansive environmental protection measures.

“The jaw-dropping beauty of California’s natural environment will be short-lived if we don’t take action to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels for transportation. It’s that simple,” De Leon said. “Whether it’s incentivizing local governments to build better public transit, sending stronger market signals to drive emissions down, or clearing the path for zero-emission ground shipping - the legislature must dig into this issue immediately.”

Clean energy advocates pointed to the progress that California has made in efforts to rein in carbon emissions, but also urged additional aggressive steps moving forward.

“The state power grid now uses more energy from carbon-free resources than from fossil fuels, and California is now home to five times as many clean energy jobs as it has in the fossil fuels industry,” said Danielle Mills, California Director of the American Wind Energy Association. “But it’s far too early to declare victory. If California is serious about climate change, we need to double-down on renewable energy.”

But several Influencers warned of the unintended consequences of overly-ambitious regulation on the state’s “job creators.”

“No other state has done as much in the modern era to impose sweeping environmental mandates on its economy, and businesses of all sizes struggle to keep up with the rules and requirements as well as the high operating costs that tie back to these policies,” said Western Growers Association Executive Vice President Dave Puglia.

“Perhaps 2020 would be a good time for the governor and Legislature to stand back and conduct an objective assessment of the environmental and energy policies that are unique to California,” he added. “As a signal, this would calm private sector worries about the long-term viability of doing business in California.”