Voting can change policy and make things happen

As we approach the end of our quadrennial election cycle, and cast our ballots for local, state and national leadership, it is a good time to reflect on the impact these decisions will have on our environment and our economy.

The decisions made in Washington DC, and in Sacramento, have massive impacts on our lives, our families, and our businesses. At the end of the day, after all the political noise and rhetoric has died down, it is the policies enacted by our legislators and regulators that chart our future course as a nation. In other words: policy matters.

A great example of a statewide policy that drove stunning growth in climate-friendly jobs and technology was the Million Solar Roofs program.

Adopted in 2006, this policy was controversial at the time. But a bipartisan coalition established statewide goals for solar installation, and this policy drove solar adoption to new heights in California, helped slash the price of solar installations over the subsequent decade, and led to the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs.

Dana Smith of SolarCraft says, “California was hugely successful because we put good policies in place. The California Solar Initiative rebates and Federal Investment Tax Credit got things going in California. But local policies matter too.

“In the early days every city could do what they wanted and charge what they wanted, but we have made getting permits easier, and streamlined codes. The Million Solar Roofs policy was the big vision that spurred specific policies on the local level. Now solar is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy.”

Smith went on to say that “residential installations have actually ticked up during the pandemic, with all the focus on home projects, remodels, fires and PSPS, and we see new interest in solar and especially battery storage. If future administrations continue to implement good policies then we can continue to grow beyond our current team of 45.”

Solar is now required on all new residential construction in California, and we have so much solar that our biggest need is more battery storage to capture the massive amounts of clean, green power being generated in California. This is also an opportunity for innovation and job creation!

It is worth noting that the Million Solar Roofs policy was championed and passed by a Democratic legislature working with a Republican governor. This demonstrates that climate-friendly policies need not be bound by partisan divisions. All Americans should agree that a healthy planet is good for us all, and will enable our children and grandchildren to survive and thrive.

We must now apply this same philosophy to all sectors of our economy.

One big area of need is transportation, which accounts for a major proportion of our greenhouse gas emissions, especially here in the rural North Bay. As with other sectors of the economy, we need the right policies to drive us to a cleaner and more prosperous future.

California currently has about 700,000 electric cars on the road, but this is still just a small fraction of the more than 35 million cars in the Golden State. With new electric vehicles coming on the market, including trucks and SUVs, we need to move more quickly to the all-electric future.

In Norway 50% of new car sales are already zero-emissions, and they are on track for 100% new car sales being electric by 2025. Is this because Norwegians are somehow more inclined to drive an electric car, or care more about the planet than we do?

Not really, it is simply that their policies make EVs more affordable. The right policy sends the right price signals, and people, being the rational creatures that we are, will make the right decisions.

We can do the same. California Governor Gavin Newsom recently issued an executive order requiring that as of 2035, all new cars and light trucks sold in California be Zero Emission Vehicles.

This is the kind of policy we need to provide the necessary incentives for auto makers, car dealers and others to prepare. Additional policies need to be put in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors of our economy, and help sequester what we’ve already put into the atmosphere. These are the policies that The Climate Center and our many partners are promoting through our Climate Safe California platform.

As the CEO of SolarCraft, Ted Walsh, puts it: “We always talk about climate change coming, but if you live in the North Bay, it’s hard not to feel like you are in the epicenter of climate change right now. It’s manifesting through increased wildfires, floods, drought, heatwaves, and toxic air quality. People have been saying figuratively that we need to ’wake up’ and start being more sustainable, but ’wake up’ now means something much more threatening when it’s a Nixle alert telling you to wake up and evacuate from a fast approaching wildfire.”

The right policies will make us all safer, while unleashing the power of innovation and entrepreneurship. The right policies can mitigate the worst effects of the climate crisis, and the right policies will drive innovation and job creation, ensuring opportunity for all.

As we drop our ballots off this week, let’s not forget: policy matters.