ADAPT NOW
​
Secure a commitment from California’s next governor to make a generational investment in climate change adaptation, one that provides compelling benefits for Californians, transforming regions, communities, and people's lives.
​​
​​The investment we need is $20 billion per year over the next 15 years,
or 0.5% of California’s GDP.
​
OUR MISSION
THE PROBLEM
Emission reductions are a global imperative, but to protect our economy, our environment, and our people, California needs to adapt to climate change on a much larger scale, and with much greater urgency.
Our current response to weather extremes is wholly inadequate; barring extraordinary leadership, we will remain stuck in underinvestment, scarcity, conflict, escalating costs, and unacceptable risks.
The 2020 wildfires in California released twice the carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than the state’s previous 15 years of emission reductions. And the cost of wildfires? Over $100 billion since 2017, which is three times the cost to dramatically reduce this destruction.
​
​
The city of Los Angeles is perpetually at risk for severe water shortages, even though it produces 30% of the state’s $3 trillion dollar economy and uses just 1.2% of the state’s water supply.
​
​
We are losing over 50,000 acres of farmland every year, with no plan to invest in a strategic farming sector, one that is resilient to the impacts of climate change on global food production.
​
​
​
Our habitats are reaching biodiversity tipping points. Ninety percent of the wetlands in the Central Valley no longer exist, leaving migratory birds, fish, and other species without refuge.
​
​​
And what about our people, our essential workers, the ones who keep our economy running? They experience the harshest conditions, have no financial resiliency, little or no healthcare support, and live under the constant threat of losing everything.
WHY CALIFORNIA?
Because there is no better place in the world, by far, to adapt to climate change on a large scale. California’s economy ranks fifth in the world.
We have a diverse workforce, progressive electorate, and are blessed with world leading defense, technology, and entertainment industries.
We have a farming industry that produces 12% of the U.S. agricultural output, and an unrivaled higher education system.
​
But it’s much more than that. California is the poster child for climate change challenges and opportunities, with its deserts, major rivers, mountains, 30 million acres of forests, and over 800 miles of coastline.
​
​
California needs to adapt to climate change on a level consistent with who we are, and the scale and pace of the threat.
THE BOTTOM LINE
THE SCOPE OF THE INVESTMENT
WILDFIRES
Implementing comprehensive Ecological Forest Restoration and advanced technologies to protect our communities before flames even begin, and dramatically increasing our air and ground firefighting resources.
STRATEGIC FARMING
Building a 21st-century farming sector—one that is profitable for farmers, builds healthy soil, is resilient to global climate change impacts, ensures food security for Californians, enhances the environment, and supports urban water reliability.
WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
Creating a state water system that is resilient to intensifying weather extremes by optimizing flood control and water storage, building new water conveyance systems, dramatically increasing operational groundwater storage, and investing in local/urban water reliability projects.
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
Integrating next-level environmental benefits into every adaptation investment, creating sustainable habitat and biodiversity outcomes, protecting our forests, rivers, wetlands, and wildlife.
ENERGY GRID
Going beyond current wildfire resiliency efforts to ensure that our energy system is efficient,and our electricity grid can withstand weather extremes that are significantly worse than we are experiencing today.
ESSENTIAL WORKERS
Turning rural farming communities into vibrant economic engines - great places to live and work, and profoundly altering the wellbeing of essential workers throughout the state—those who keep our communities running.