Governor Edmund G. Brown
c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Governor Brown,

The urgent realities of climate change require urgent action; they demand of us “courage and imagination” as you have said yourself.

However, there is a significant gap between our current policies and what needs to be done to minimize the catastrophic impacts of climate change and to meet the Paris Agreement goals you have championed. In particular, fossil fuel production is a significant obstacle to doing what science says must be done. California continues to be a major oil and gas producer; carbon emissions from that production continue to increase along with the harm to the communities living in the shadow of fossil fuel infrastructure.

In the last few years, Californians and many others around the world have seen the landscape change; they’ve watched their neighbors’ homes burn, waded through flooded streets and endured record-setting temperatures. In addition to climate impacts, oil and gas production threatens public health, safety, and natural resources. We know that communities near oil and gas development have higher rates of asthma, preterm birth, birth defects, and acute illness complaints from residents. These impacts fall disproportionately on low-income communities and communities of color, exacerbating this health and justice crisis. And yet, California policy continues to ignore the extraction in our backyards, even after our state scientists made clear recommendations that would protect public health and our communities. This is unacceptable.

I sign my name below and call on you to:

1. Lead by committing that the state of California will grant no new permits for oil and gas extraction, fossil fuel infrastructure, or petrochemical projects, both onshore and offshore.

2. Set a global precedent by becoming the first oil-producing state to announce a phase-out of existing production – in line with the Paris climate goals – with a just and equitable transition that protects workers, communities, and economies, starting in places that are suffering most from the impacts of fossil fuel extraction.

In September, as you welcome the world to San Francisco for the Global Climate Action Summit, you could show courage and imagination as a standard for global climate leadership.

As you’ve said, there are few places as well-equipped as California to aggressively lead this change. True climate leadership will help protect the health and safety of 39 million Californians and ensure a more equitable and healthy future for the billions of people around the world who look to you to help chart the course. This, I hope, will be your legacy.

Sincerely,
[Your information here]