Letter from Our CEO

10.29.20

As we mail-in or drop off our ballots, or even vote in person, we are picking the leader we think is best suited to curb the devastation caused by the pandemic, reset the economy, and address the systemic racial injustices that have come to the forefront of national conversations since the murder of George Floyd.

Climate change is also on the ballot. Wildfires have been raging up and down the state, and Santa Ana and Diablo winds threaten powerlines and risk sparking more fires. Our heatwaves lengthen and intensify while air quality worsens and drought looms. The next president must set an agenda that protects current and future generations from the challenges we know are inevitable. We’re simply out of time.

Here at Better World Group, we’ve been fortunate to be on the front lines of making California a national leader in addressing climate change. Just this legislative session, we led a coalition of environmental leaders who successfully advocated for the passage of AB841, a bill that unlocks unspent funds for air quality improvements for public school classrooms and electric vehicle charging infrastructure so these projects can happen now when they are most needed. Once again California is showing the rest of the country how to direct investments in clean energy and clean transportation to benefit the most vulnerable and create good-paying, quality green jobs.

It is no secret that we think the election of Joe Biden is crucial to scaling up these kinds of solutions and building a greener, more just future for our nation, and the world.

The Biden-Harris clean energy plan acknowledges that we only have nine years to take serious steps before the worst of climate change is irreversible. It recognizes the existential threat of climate change, commits to a zero-emissions future, and promises to hold polluters to account for the public health impacts they create.

It also makes clear that working toward a clean energy future doesn’t mean choosing between jobs and the environment. Green investments will create 10 million middle-class jobs that will put people to work building a more resilient infrastructure for the climate crisis ahead.

California once again has a chance to demonstrate the path forward on green jobs that lift people out of poverty, prioritize communities that need a fair chance at career-ladder opportunities and rebuild our state. And we can start now. There are shovel-ready projects on our state’s public lands that can put young Californians to work, putting money in their pockets and helping them to build a relationship to nature for our state’s future environmental stewardship. We need to start building EV charging stations and other infrastructure that will help us achieve Gov. Gavin Newsom’s vision of zero-emissions transportation in California by 2035. We can help Californians retrofit their homes for upcoming extreme weather and for energy efficiency. These investments will put our state back to work and revitalize the economy, all while building a resilient California. It’s a win-win.

We don’t have another four years to lose. We must seize the opportunity to set a course for a pandemic recovery that locks in place structural changes to address the converging crises of economic recession, racial inequities and climate injustices. California has demonstrated the possibilities ahead, but we need the right leaders in place in Washington to make it happen. When it comes to the future of our climate, it is not hyperbole to say that this election is the most important of our lifetimes and those of our children and grandchildren.

Choose a future worthy of our children. Vote Biden-Harris to Build Back Better.