Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

18 hours ago

Trump Vowed to Dismantle MS-13. His Deal With Bukele Threatens That Effort.

22 hours ago

Ukraine Voices Concern as US Halts Some Missile Shipments

22 hours ago

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

22 hours ago

Paramount Settles With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Interview for $16 Million

22 hours ago

Republicans Tee up House Vote on Trump Bill, Outcome Uncertain

23 hours ago

What’s Next for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs After His Sex Trafficking Trial?

23 hours ago

Dalai Lama Says He Will Be Reincarnated, Trust Will Identify Successor

23 hours ago
Governor and Legislature: Stop Raiding California’s Cap-and-Trade Funding
gvw_calmatters
By CalMatters
Published 6 years ago on
June 27, 2019

Share

When I was California Assembly Speaker in 2006, I proudly negotiated with Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to lay down a marker in the fight against climate change by placing strict reductions on greenhouse gas emissions through Assembly Bill 32.


by Fabian Núñez
Special to CALmatters

We knew we had to do something, especially after the U.S. pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol.
AB 32 gave the California Air Resources Board the ability to create a system in which polluters had to pay if they were unable to directly reduce their emissions. This first-ever cap-and-trade system has become instrumental to California’s economy.
Payments by polluters generate much-needed funds to clean up our environment and make California the leader in renewable energy that it is today.
California has made great strides with investments from our cap-and-trade revenue, including massive efforts to get more electric vehicles on our roads and improving the environment of our poorest communities, all while reducing our greenhouse gas emissions at a historic rate.
Unfortunately, some of this important progress may be threatened by diversions of cap-and-trade funds for investments that are barely related to the original intent of AB 32.
The last thing our state and the planet can afford is for cap-and-trade funds to be turned into a slush fund for pet projects that do little or nothing to improve our environment.

California Has Led Fight on Climate Change

Over the years, we have seen standards weakened on the original cap-and-trade deal as it relates to what qualifies for appropriate spending of these dollars and there are now efforts underway to even further destabilize this critically important funding source, and it is causing great alarm for those of us who fought so hard for this program.

California has led the fight on climate change. We are now seeing much of the rest of the country follow. All of the top Democratic presidential candidates are making the fight against climate change a cornerstone of their campaigns.
By allowing these funds to be used on unrelated projects we will never meet our greenhouse gas reduction goals or truly address the devastating impacts of climate change.
Clean drinking water, high-speed rail, and workforce training are critical to California’s future. But it is more appropriate to invest in these areas from the state’s general fund and not from the cap-and-trade revenue.
I urge the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom to not allow diversions to continue, and to be the environmental stewards they have been throughout their political careers.
California has led the fight on climate change. We are now seeing much of the rest of the country follow. All of the top Democratic presidential candidates are making the fight against climate change a cornerstone of their campaigns.
Our cap-and-trade system is our strongest tool in fixing this existential threat. We must not let it rust away in the toolbox. It is imperative that we not cheapen the world-class program we all worked so hard to create over a decade ago.
About the Author
Fabian Núñez is former California Assembly Speaker and co-author of AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act. He can be reached at fnunez@mercuryllc.com. He wrote this commentary for CALmatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s Capitol works and why it matters.
[activecampaign form=19]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

DON'T MISS

There Are Fresno Area Fireworks Shows Galore Through Sunday

DON'T MISS

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

DON'T MISS

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 8,300 Acres, Prompts Evacuations

DON'T MISS

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

DON'T MISS

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

DON'T MISS

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

DON'T MISS

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

UP NEXT

Dear Mayor and City Council, Fresno’s Housing Bottlenecks Are a Modern Form of Redlining

UP NEXT

A Path Forward on Immigration Reform That Strengthens America

UP NEXT

Israel Faces Genocide Accusations Amid Gaza Food Aid Killings

UP NEXT

I Detest Netanyahu, but on Some Things He’s Actually Right

UP NEXT

Much of LA’s Community of Immigrants Is Hiding, Leaving a Hole in the Fabric of the City

UP NEXT

Things Netanyahu Might Say if Injected With Truth Serum

UP NEXT

California Politicians Ignore Ag’s Troubles, but Boost Movie Business

UP NEXT

Trump’s Courageous and Correct Decision to Bomb Iran

UP NEXT

How the Attacks on Iran Are Part of a Much Bigger Global Struggle

UP NEXT

Groceries Are Now a Luxury. So Is Breathing.

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

15 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 8,300 Acres, Prompts Evacuations

15 hours ago

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

15 hours ago

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

16 hours ago

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

16 hours ago

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

16 hours ago

Two Visalia Men Sentenced in 2021 Motel Killing

17 hours ago

Ex-Jan. 6 Defendant Gets Life in Prison for Plot to Kill FBI Agents

17 hours ago

Del Monte Files for Bankruptcy. Gets Nearly $1B to Keep Producing Through Process

17 hours ago

Who is Running for Fresno Area Offices in 2026? An Updated Look

18 hours ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

Nvidia was on track to become the most valuable company in history on Thursday, with the chipmaker’s market capitalization reaching $3...

17 seconds ago

Nvidia products are displayed after its CEO Jensen Huang made a keynote speech at Computex in Taipei, Taiwan May 19, 2025. (Reuters File)
18 seconds ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

7 minutes ago

There Are Fresno Area Fireworks Shows Galore Through Sunday

A new Gallup poll finds that only 41% of Americans say they are "extremely proud" to be American—near a record low—with sharp partisan divides and overall patriotism significantly lower than two decades ago. (Shutterstock)
7 minutes ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to the press, as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 2, 2025. (Reuters/Annabelle Gordon)
15 hours ago

House Republicans Say They Expect to Vote Tonight on Trump’s Tax-Cut Bill

The Madre Fire in San Luis Obispo County has rapidly expanded to 8,396 acres with no containment, prompting evacuation orders and warnings near New Cuyama. (CalFire)
15 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 8,300 Acres, Prompts Evacuations

Andrew Biscay, 40, was arrested Friday, June 20, 2025, after deputies found him with a fake U.S. Marshal’s badge, homemade firearm, and law enforcement-style gear during a warrant arrest. (Madera County SO)
15 hours ago

SLO Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Los Osos Weeks After US Marshal Impersonation Arrest

On Tuesday, July 1, 2025, a Madera County sheriff’s deputy was injured while trying to arrest a wanted felon, Felix Adrian Nucamendi Carrasco, 40, who later fled and was captured near Raymond Road. (Madera County SO)
16 hours ago

Madera County Deputy Injured, Wanted Felon Arrested After Violent Struggle

A wildfire dubbed the Madre Fire has burned over 3,300 acres near New Cuyama with 0% containment, officials said Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (CalFire)
16 hours ago

San Luis Obispo County Wildfire Burns More Than 3,000 Acres. No Containment Yet

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend