Climate Emergency Action: Community Solidarity In Action
by Faye Wilson Kennedy, Chris Brown & Cathleen Williams, Sacramento Poor People’s Campaign (Sac PPC)
On Tuesday, March 10, twenty-four local organizations joined together to submit public comments and urge the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors (BOS) to hold a public hearing to review and adopt the recommendations of the Climate Emergency Response Plan (CERP, current version, August 2024).
Members of the diverse coalition included: Sacramento Climate Coalition, Environmental Council of Sacramento’s Climate Committee, Sacramento Poor People’s Campaign, 350Sacramento, Red, Black and Green Environmental Justice Coalition, SacACT, Ring of Democracy, Wellstone Progressive Democrats of Sacramento, League of Women Voters Sacramento County, 100 Black Men of Sacramento, Inc., Sacramento Sierra Club, Climate Reality Project, Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Physicians for Social Responsibility/Sacramento, Third Act Sacramento, CLAP Community Lead Advocacy Program, Green Tech Academy, Sacramento Environmental Justice Coalition, Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates, Sacramento Community Land Trust, California chapter of the Laudato Si Movement, SocialJustice Politi-Corps, and Sacramento Area Black Caucus.
Eighteen speakers, from the organizations and some community members, addressed the Board and thanked the Task Force for synthesizing information from a variety of sources and for doing an excellent job reaching out to the community by holding meetings on various topics at community centers and libraries across the Environmental Justice (EJ) communities of Sacramento County. The Task Force received comments and input regarding the climate emergency from groups and residents of various neighborhoods.
The Sacramento Area Black Caucus’s (SABC) letter and public comments stated: “We are concerned that, especially in the Black community and other EJ communities, the practice of seeking input and preparing a responsive report, only to have it ‘received to file,’ sends the wrong message and erodes truth.”
Doug MacPherson, a member of the Sacramento Climate Coalition and Sacramento Public Banking Coalition, shared excellent funding alternatives and recommended Dr. Rosylin Roberts, an Associate Professor of Accounting at California State University, Sacramento, and a two-year member of the Climate Emergency Mobilization Task Force, for the record. She shared some specific examples: 1. a vehicle miles traveled tax; 2. a regional Public Bank—commissioning a public-bank feasibility study with the city of Sacramento; 3. ensuring we have a Stand-up Climate Finance Office with an onboard grant-writer team; and 4. releasing ballot language for a carbon/utility fee.
Medical doctors Harry Wang and Goli Sahba addressed the health-related crisis we face if we don’t act now, especially the impact on children and marginalized communities of color. The climate change crisis in the USA represents an urgent, inequitable crisis for children and marginalized communities, who face disproportionate health risks, educational disruptions, and economic instability. Developing immune systems, higher exposure to pollution, and increased vulnerability to extreme heat, wildfires, and flooding threaten the immediate safety and long-term well-being of millions.
Comprehensive strategies are needed to adapt, protect, and build resilience in these communities to mitigate these long-term effects. Therefore, the Coalition asked that the BOS review and adopt the recommendations outlined below.
- Pay-as-you-save financing would greatly help low- and moderate-income residents of our EJ communities who often lack the funds to purchase more efficient and electric appliances, which will help them address increasingly hot summers.
- Participate in creating microgrids by using county facilities as resilient community centers. These centers would provide respite for those lacking adequate HVAC and ensure that public facilities, equipped with solar and battery systems, in county buildings are available to protect public health and safety during a potential blackout.
- Waive permit fees for residents for upgrades to meet climate resiliency, including appliances and home improvements.
- Provide weather stripping and other energy efficiency materials at county facilities at no cost to county residents.
- Collaborate with SMUD and the Cities of the County to develop mobility hubs where residents can rent EVs or e-bikes to meet transportation needs.
- Support the rapid planting and maintenance of shade trees, especially in disadvantaged communities where there is a pronounced lack of canopy, creating heat islands, and at transit stops.
- Support active transportation, including sidewalks and bike lanes throughout Sacramento County, especially in EJ communities.
- Climate Resilience Centers, especially in EJ communities, are essential. These should include food and mobility resources, as mentioned above.
- Support nature-based solutions for carbon sequestration, especially on smaller farms and through tree planting in low-income neighborhoods.
The costs of inaction far outweigh the costs of the recommended measures. We support the development of internal funding redirection and ordinances, such as replacing failed equipment with climate-resilient options and seeking new income streams.
Save the date: the diverse Coalition on Tuesday, March 24, @ 1:45 PM at Sacramento City Hall, 911 I Street, will be an opportunity to tell the City we want our local economy to benefit from a Public Bank, which will finally divest our funds from Climate-destroying Wall Street banks that fund fossil fuels, private prisons, and gun manufacturing!
Positive benefits of a Sacramento Public Bank:
- enhanced economic growth
- small business loans
- affordable housing
- green energy transition
- lower the cost of public infrastructure
CLICK HERE to RSVP to speak:
The Coalition will continue to engage with the Climate Emergency Task Force Advisory Committee, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, and the Sacramento City Council on these important issues.
