Climate change is evident in California, and it has become one of the most affected states. The major droughts that are predicted to become more severe, as well as torrential rains, rising sea levels, and fires that consume thousands of hectares each year, have pushed the Golden State to the limit, so advisers to the California Legislature called on all residents to prepare for the devastating climatic effects that are to come.
The Legislative Analyst's Office presented a series of six reports, which aims to help policymakers think about how climate change in California will affect various sectors and, consequently, what key policy and fiscal issues the Legislature will face in the coming years.
Throughout the documents, the dire consequences for Californians are described as climate change in California continues to disrupt most aspects of daily life.
Much of the focus of the series is detailing the economic toll as the changing climate alters where and how Californians build, grow food and protect their most vulnerable residents.
According to the documents, wildfires, heat and flooding will force schools to close more frequently, disrupting education, childcare and the availability of free school lunches.
It is worth recalling that more than 1,600 schools were temporarily closed due to forest fires between 2017 and 2020, affecting almost one million students per year.
Workers in outdoor industries like agriculture, construction, forestry and recreation — 10 percent of California’s workforce and mostly Latino — will continue to bear the brunt of the extreme heat and smoke.
They also say wildfire smoke may have killed as many as 20 people out of every 100,000 older Californians in 2020, and is expected to be more lethal.
A 50 percent increase in smoke could kill nine to 20 more people per 100,000 each year.
Homes, railways, bridges, ports, power plants, highways and other structures, they say, are vulnerable to rising sea levels and tides.
"Between $8 billion and $10 billion of existing California property is likely to be underwater by 2050, with an additional $6 billion to $10 billion at risk during high tide," the report said.
Climate change in California is projected to lead to extreme heat causing nine deaths per 100,000 people each year, “roughly equivalent to the 2019 annual death rate from motor vehicle accidents in California.”
In addition, low-income Californians, who live in communities at higher risk of heat and flooding due to discriminatory housing practices, will be particularly affected by climate change in California and will have fewer resources to adapt.
In this regard, they point out that housing losses are expected: for example, in the San Francisco Bay Area alone, 13 thousand existing houses and 104 thousand work spaces "will no longer be usable" due to rising sea levels in the next 40 to 100 years.
Beaches will disappear, too: Up to two-thirds of Southern California's beaches could completely erode by 2100.
While the series of reports does not say so as such, the unequivocal conclusion is: Climate change in California could upend everything and spare no one, so policymakers should consider preparing for radical impacts.
The pain and costs will be shared among the state, regional, local, private and industrial sectors, the document said.
Scientists say it's not too late to stop the worst effects of climate change in California, but time is running out.
Technologies and other solutions already exist to reduce greenhouse gases from fossil fuels and other sources and prevent more serious damage, according to a landmark international scientific report released Monday. But international agreements and plans remain far short, and emissions are expected to continue to rise.
"These hazards will threaten public health, safety and welfare, including life-threatening events, damage to public and private property and infrastructure, and deterioration of natural resources," the analysts say.
The state's legislative analysts did not conduct new research on climate change in California; instead, they compiled existing data and projections, providing a one-stop information center for lawmakers as they enact policies and pass budgets.
Just this Monday, and following the release of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest report on efforts to combat the climate crisis, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration released the state’s Climate Adaptation Strategy outlining the practical approach to building climate resilience in California.
The strategy seeks to position the state as an international leader in protecting people and natural places from accelerating climate threats.
“California is on the front lines of the climate crisis with disappearing Sierra snowpack, life-threatening heat waves and record-breaking wildfires,” Newsom said.
The Climate Adaptation Strategy outlines six key priorities that must drive all resilience actions in California:
- Strengthen protections for climate vulnerable communities.
- Strengthen public health and safety efforts to protect against increasing climate risks.
- Building a climate-resilient economy
- Accelerating nature-based climate solutions and strengthening the climate resilience of natural systems
- Make decisions based on the best available climate science
- Partnering and collaborating to leverage resources
It also brings together in one place nearly 150 climate adaptation actions from existing state plans and strategies and, for the first time, presents success metrics and timelines for each action.
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