Climate advocates gathered at the State Capitol last week to protest changes to California’s program that charges major polluters for their greenhouse gas emissions.
Several protesters held a mourning ceremony in the Capitol building to oppose changes to the state’s cap-and-invest program they say benefit oil and gas companies, while reducing funding for transit, affordable housing and other climate programs.
Ruth Holton-Hodson says these “lamenters” are part of Third Act Sacramento, a climate advocacy group.
"It’s very effective for people just to see people standing there in mourning about what is happening to our planet and really trying to wake people up to what’s happening to the planet," added Holton-Hodson.
Transit advocate Ren Zaro Fitzgerald says they’re concerned about how the California Air Resources Board handled the process, noting that a rushed public comment period gave advocates little time to weigh in before the board approved the changes in late May.
"So we’ve never really gotten a chance to you know express how we as Californians feel about this and now they’re threatening to arrest us at the Capitol so feels fitting for what we’ve seen," Fitzgerald added.
Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed the state budget, which defers action on budget proposals related to implementing the program. A spokesperson for CARB says the updated regulations are still scheduled to take effect in September.