On January 21, 2025, Transform was one of 61 nonprofits that joined together to send a message to California agencies in charge of transportation, housing, and air quality: We urgently need to lower our transportation emissions now. Transform was a central member of the group drafting the letter, which outlines concrete steps the agencies must take to ensure California meets its transportation emission targets.
Transform’s work advocating for transportation and housing policies to avert climate change has never been more crucial. The wildfires that have devastated Los Angeles are just the latest in a string of climate disasters to rock our state, threatening the lives and livelihoods of Californians. Yet our state agencies and elected officials often act as if changing our driving habits and petroleum addiction would be more harmful than fires and floods that wipe out whole towns and communities.
We can’t afford to push climate action to some fuzzy date in the future. We need concrete, significant action now. The strong and determined coalition united behind this letter is demanding just that.
No help from Washington
One of the biggest sticking points for climate action is money. It costs money to ensure transit systems have robust operating budgets. Building infill housing near transit hubs takes funding. Creating bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly streets requires infrastructure spending that most California communities can’t take on without support.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and other infrastructure legislation passed during the last administration sent a large influx of money to the states to fund climate-resilient infrastructure. Unfortunately, even under a supportive administration, California used the funding on projects that will lead to a net increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
But, as the letter notes, we can’t expect support from the federal government under the current administration, which has already signaled its intent to prioritize oil production and strip EV mandates. The good news is that California has the money it needs for transportation transformation.
Stop building highways
Transportation emissions are the largest single source of GHGs in California, and the state has developed excellent policies to reduce tailpipe emissions. However, while our state’s transportation spending includes some funding to support active and public transportation, we’re still spending too much money on highway expansion.
Every mile of state-controlled highway is a debt against the future. Although planners widen highways to reduce congestion, it’s empirically evident that widening roads only eases traffic flow for a few years. In the long term, it leads to more driving, more pollution, more climate-killing emissions, and even worse traffic jams. And, every highway mile California builds is a future maintenance cost. New highways are money pits that drag climate stability down with them.
The coalition letter demands that the agencies controlling California’s transportation budget take steps to ensure we follow established laws and policies for reducing driving. Plus, simply shifting the money allocated for new freeway miles would free up a significant amount of money that could be used to shore up struggling public transit systems and build low-stress bike networks and walkable neighborhoods.
Strength in numbers
ClimatePlan headed the coalition that sent the letter. The group included environmental advocates like NRDC, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Sierra Club. Regional and statewide active transportation groups signed on, including local bicycle coalitions in Santa Monica, San Diego, the East Bay, and Los Angeles, as well as CalBike and California Walks. The Coalition for Clean Air, the American Lung Association, and the Central California Asthma Collective are part of the coalition, as are climate action groups, including Climate Action California, 350 chapters, and Elders Climate Action. Transit, housing, and street safety groups also signed on.
The diversity of the groups coming together to advocate for a shift in California’s transportation spending reflects the seriousness of the issue. Changing the focus of our transportation policies from moving as many cars and trucks as possible as fast as possible to clean, efficient, and safe alternatives affects every facet of our lives. Spending more on bike lanes and sidewalks creates safer streets, reducing traffic fatalities and injuries. Making transit more efficient reduces air pollution that causes a myriad of diseases, from lung cancer to Alzheimer’s.
A coalition with voices from so many diverse interest areas will be heard in Sacramento. Transform is proud to join forces with allies across disciplines to unite around our shared interest in moving California back from the climate abyss.
The steps we take to wean California from its carbon addiction are crucial to protect our communities from the worst ravages of climate change. But those same actions also improve health and well-being in a variety of ways. Reimagining our transportation systems is an opportunity to create a future that’s human-centered, efficient, cost-effective, and healthy, for the planet and the creatures who depend on it.
Read the letter:
