Trust for Public Land praises California action on climate change in cities

The Trust for Public Land today praised action by the Governor and California legislature to invest money from California’s landmark climate change law to help green cities and prepare communities to deal with climate change.

“This funding recognizes the multiple climate benefits of weaving nature back into our concrete jungles,” said Gina Fromer, California State Director at The Trust for Public Land. “We are particularly excited about the new funding allocated for urban greening, transformational climate communities, and active transportation. The new innovative, crosscutting programs will catalyze climate-smart projects in underserved communities across the state.”

“There is well documented research showing the carbon benefits of natural resource conservation, including the cost effectiveness of these investments as the only sector that removes carbon from the atmosphere,” said Fromer. “These initial natural resource and urban greening allocations are an important step in the right direction but need to be supported with additional state investments in climate conservation.”

Jad Daley, Climate Program Director at The Trust for Public Land, said, “Climate change is the major environmental problem facing our planet in this century, and to deal with it, we need to face these challenges head-on. California has been a national leader in showing other states and countries how to face this problem. There is no single answer to dealing with climate change, but this decision by the legislature will provide new and much-needed resources for our cities to help them prepare. At the same time, it will also improve the lives of people who live in California communities by creating new parks and places for them to get outside.”