Dozens of labor, housing and public transit groups have come out against proposed changes that would weaken emissions standards within California’s cap-and-invest program.
What happened: A coalition of more than 60 organizations, including the California Transit Association, Housing California and Teamsters, wrote in a Thursday letter to California Air Resources Board Chair Lauren Sanchez that amendments to the agency’s draft carbon market rules released earlier this month could reduce funding for climate programs by $1.65 billion, with “no plan to backfill the losses.”
“We are gravely concerned with the program’s proposed direction,” the group wrote.
Why it matters: The pushback comes after 28 legislative Democrats voiced their own opposition to the amendments earlier this week, writing in a letter to Sanchez on Monday that the changes “depart from the spirit of our landmark agreement from last year by seeking to achieve affordability goals without accountability.”
