Press Release

Key California Legislative Committee Looks at Inequitable Impact of Heat, Fire and Other Climate Emergencies

SACRAMENTO -- Yesterday the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management chaired by Senator Henry Stern (D-Los Angeles) heard testimony from journalists, researchers and advocates that the risks of climate disaster fall disproportionately on our most vulnerable residents, especially women and people of color.

Leading off the hearing was internationally known David Wallace-Wells, author of The Uninhabitable Earth and editor of New York Magazine,. who testified that “By 2050, ten thousand Californians a year will die from extreme heat, particularly agricultural workers.” He said that in 2020, “more people died from poor air quality than died from COVID.”

Nancy Cohen, President of the Gender Equity Policy Institute testified from the GEPI’s recent report entitled “Failing The Climate Justice Test.” The report’s findings detail:

  • 92% of the jobs potentially created by the measure are projected to go to men.
  • The North Coast region will receive roughly $1,124 per capita in investments. The region is 71% white and disproportionately male.
  • The Los Angeles region will receive roughly $84 per capita in investments. The region is 67% BIPOC and disproportionately female.

“The testimony today was sobering yet hopeful. There’s so much risk if we fail to take action, but if we seize the moment, we can save so many lives, especially of frontline workers, mothers and children of color, those in both urban and agricultural areas.” said Stern (D-Los Angeles), the chair of the committee. “What GEPI found is of real concern, that the North Coast region, which is 71% white and disproportionately male will receive roughly $1,124 per capita in investments while the Los Angeles region which is 67% BIPOC and disproportionately female will receive roughly $84 per capita in investments, that’s inequitable, no question.” “We’re at a pivotal moment in California history as we choose how to spend billions of dollars for climate resilience in the state budget. We heard it here today. We’ve got to spend the money to build cool schools, cool playgrounds, cool roofs and cool fields. We’ve got to retrofit homes, not only to withstand fire but to vastly improve indoor air quality,” continued Stern.

"The climate crisis presents an imminent threat to the health, safety, and prosperity of all people in California,” said Nancy L. Cohen, president of the Gender Equity Policy Institute. “On the current path of climate action, women and people of color, particularly in Los Angeles, are being left out. California is in
danger of failing the gender and racial equity test. California must make the right choices with the opportunity the budget surplus has opened up. To protect Californians from the deadly impacts of climate change and build climate resilience for all communities, the state must invest in equitable climate action
that includes women and people of color.”

When asked by Senator Stern whether California was prepared to protect its vulnerable populations from the coming climate disasters, Wallace-Wells replied, simply, “No.” He continued soberly, “I worry less about [the environmental risk] than the risk of normalizing human dying -- that the unthinkable simply becomes the wallpaper of our lives.”

Michael Wara, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, Director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program testified that, “The total cost [of climate disasters] isn't what matters as much as how it is
distributed across society.”

“Los Angeles County is home to the highest share of disadvantaged communities in the state,” said Kristen Torres Pawling, Los Angeles County Sustainability Program Director. “We also know that climate change disproportionately harms vulnerable populations. So it only stands to reason that LA -- the most populous county in our state -- sits at ground zero for catastrophic climate impacts. We simply can't accept a future where climate change harms millions of people that are least equipped to battle it. It's a recipe for disaster -- both morally and fiscally.”

Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez (D-Pomona), the Vice Chair of the committee, noted “The effects of climate change on California over the past decade have been devastating. All we have to do is look at last year’s wildfires that burned 4.2 million acres, more than 4% of the state’s land. California has also experienced flooding, debris slides, sea rise, record setting heat waves, and we are now in the grips of a severe drought. While the state, our counties, and our cities are better prepared now than before to respond to emergencies, climate change is moving the bar and we need to adjust how we are preparing and responding when these disasters strike. We also need to ensure these efforts are uniform throughout California and that our disadvantaged communities are not left behind.”

The questions examined by the committee can certainly be acted upon in the near future by the California Legislature. In May, Governor Gavin Newsom agreed with the legislature to accept a Climate Resiliency Package to provide $3.7 billion over three years to make needed climate resilience investments. Details of the package will continue to be worked out through negotiations between the Governor and the legislative leadership in the coming weeks. The committee plans to release a written report on how to best move forward to see that our most vulnerable residents are protected and prepared for what’s to come.

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