SACRAMENTO — Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) today released the following statement on the Assembly passing the air quality improvement and cap-and-trade extension package:
“With this important package we are continuing California’s global leadership on climate change and we are protecting the public health by improving air quality in communities throughout our state.
“Is cap and trade a silver bullet on climate change? No. But it is a workable system that can help us reach our emission reduction goals in conjunction with our other climate programs. Extending cap and trade is the right thing to do.
“To me, though, the most important thing we are doing today is enacting the part of the package that includes landmark air quality improvements. We get retrofitting that will lead to cleaner technologies being used. We get higher fines to dissuade bad actors. We get direct clean air actions to the communities most affected by dirty air. That’s a big deal.
“Like all compromises, there are things in the cap-and-trade bill not to like, but there are a lot of things in the package as a whole to like. With the existential threat posed by climate change, we have to move forward. I am just pleased that we are also moving forward with the historic air quality improvement bill as well.
“Make no mistake, this is a win for California.”