California Climate Resilience Bond Gains Strong Support from Bay Area Legislators and Environmental Leaders

Sacramento, CA – In a show of support for the California Climate Resilience Bond (AB 1567, SB867) now being considered by the State Legislature, legislators and environmental leaders from throughout the Bay Area gathered to highlight the strong and growing support to protect vulnerable communities. The California Climate Resilience Bond is poised to be a transformative solution, providing essential funding to protect the Bay Area from the mounting impacts of climate change.

Taking place during King Tides which offer a preview of future rising sea levels and flood risks to shoreline communities, the event highlighted the need for the bond to provide critical investments aimed at restoring natural shoreline areas as a buffer against storm surges and rising tides, and upgrading infrastructure to promote flood climate resilience in the Bay Area.

“San Mateo County, with two coasts and concentrated development along the Bay, is the most vulnerable county in all of California to sea level rise and the impacts from increasingly powerful storms,” said Papan. “Our county has made significant strides in preparing for these challenges but we cannot do this alone. We must have state and federal investments to protect our communities from the increasing threat of natural disaster.”

“East Palo Alto and many surrounding communities have experienced repeated flooding which, without significant investment, may only get worse,” said East Palo Alto Councilmember Lisa Gauthier. “While we have done much at the local and regional level we will need additional support to protect the lives, livelihoods and property of already vulnerable communities."

Rising sea levels, more frequent and prolonged droughts and resulting wildfire pose an imminent threat to all of California and demand immediate action.

“As the chair of the Select Committee on Wildfire Prevention, I am proud to be a joint author on this transformative legislation. AB 1567 is a roadmap that addresses our climate crisis head on by ensuring support for safe drinking water, wildfire prevention, drought resilience, flood protection, clean energy, and more. This bill stands as a testament to our commitment to a sustainable resilient future."

Assembly Bill 1567 proposes over $15.9 billion in proven strategies and equity-focused investments to protect California communities. These investments would support various activities throughout the state to address issues ranging from wildfire risk, drought, sea-level rise, and extreme heat. This measure also creates opportunities for workforce development and job creation.

“Investing in climate resilience can also be an investment in economic resilience,” said Adrian Covert, Senior Vice President of Public Policy for the Bay Area Council. “Climate resilience investments go well beyond the environment, and they can be an important stimulus for job creation across multiple industries that are key to California’s overall economic success.”

“The work that we are doing regionally to protect shoreline communities through wetland restoration and other nature-based projects are critical to projecting the Bay Area from sea level rise and flooding,” said David Lewis, executive Director of Save The Bay. “We can’t afford to postpone these projects because the risks to our communities are too great and aren’t going away.”

Present at the press conference were East Palo Alto Councilmember Lisa Gauthier also representing One Shoreline; Assemblymember Diane Papan (D-San Mateo); Assemblymember Damon Connolly (D - San Rafael); Save the Bay Executive Director David Lewis, and Climate Resilient Communities Executive Director Violet Wulf-Saena.

Assembly Bill 1567 is now being considered in the State Senate awaiting hearings in the Committees on Natural Resources & Water and Governance & Finance.

###