RCRC has urged the Legislature to allocate an additional $203 million to wildfire prevention and forest resilience programs from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), the full estimated amount available for such programs from the August Cap-and-Trade auction. The current 2021-22 State Budget Package has less than $500 million dedicated to wildfire mitigation and forest management projects, with another $500 million to be made available “if needed” during the fiscal year. RCRC has urged the Legislature to demonstrate the necessary sense of urgency around protecting California’s residents from future catastrophic wildfires by increasing the current allocations from the GGRF.
The August quarterly carbon Cap-and-Trade auction netted the highest proceeds in the program’s history, earning an unprecedented $1.14 billion for California’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. Included in the auction windfall is an estimated $203 million available for programs that aren’t already subject to continuous appropriations by the Legislature from the GGRF. As the state experiences another record-breaking wildfire season, RCRC sent a letter to Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins and Speaker of the Assembly Anthony Rendon on August 27, 2021 strongly urging the Legislature to allocate the entirety of the available August GGRF funds to fire prevention and forest health projects.
RCRC’s letter to Senate Pro Tem Atkins and Speaker Rendon can be viewed here.