With surplus twice January projection, leaders must double down with a Climate Courage Budget to save California

CONTACT: Veda Banerjee, 510.844.0229, veda@envirovoters.org

SACRAMENTO, CA – Mary Creasman, Chief Executive Officer of the California Environmental Voters (EnviroVoters), released the following statement in response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s release of the May Revision.

“It’s exciting to see an even bigger climate investment proposed today but Governor Newsom and lawmakers must double down on investments in clean air, energy, transportation, and other infrastructure. This is an existential threat and bolder action is needed to ensure victory in the fight. Saving California requires a budget with many unprecedented actions. We have the know-how and the resources. We just need leaders to unleash them by passing a Climate Courage Budget that invests at least $75 billion over five years.

“We have the opportunity to harness a surplus that has more than doubled in size since Governor Newsom first proposed a record $37.6 billion climate investment in January. It’s disappointing to see the May Revision isn’t putting much more of our budget surplus to work at the scale required to stop climate change from destroying the California we love. $47.1 billion is a clear increase from January’s proposal, but, like we’ve said through the spring – better doesn’t mean enough. California’s $97.5 billion surplus is historic – and we need to put our wealth to work on climate investments now.

“We won’t get a second chance to save California. Scientists tell us we have until the end of the decade to prevent a future plagued by more frequent and intense drought, extreme heat, wildfires, and pollution. Weak responses and delays only put our health, lives and livelihoods at risk as these threats become more intense, frequent, and destructive.”

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California Environmental Voters (formerly the California League of Conservation Voters) believes the climate crisis is here and this moment requires transformative change. California has the policy solutions to stop climate change but lacks the political will to do it at the rate and scale that’s necessary. EnviroVoters exists to build the political power to solve the climate crisis, advance justice, and create a roadmap for global action. We organize voters, elect and train candidates, and hold lawmakers accountable for bold policy change. We won’t stop until we have resilient, healthy, thriving communities, and a democracy and economy that is just and sustainable for all. Join us at www.envirovoters.org and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. See more press releases.

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