California must guard against the tyranny of Trump, fossil fuels

Patrick Henry galvanized his contemporaries with a passionate call to overthrow a despotic king. For the fledgling nation to survive, King George III had to go. Henry's forceful entreaty is credited as a key turning point on the road to American independence.

Two and half centuries later, our country stands at another crossroads, confronted by the climate crisis, the tyranny of fossil fuels and a despotic president.

Today, as climate catastrophes devastate California and the world, it's clear that the fossil fuel era must end. This is a fight for the survival of life on Earth as we know it.

As a lawyer working in climate law for 25 years, I've found it excruciating to watch scientists' warnings about the dire consequences of burning fossil fuels go unheeded, while the brutal toll mounts. The recent Los Angeles fires, which killed 29 people, upended the lives of tens of thousands and caused estimated economic losses topping $250 billion, are the latest harsh example.

Climate change has increased the likelihood of "extreme fire weather" across California. In Los Angeles, it's lengthening the fire season and increasing the overlap of dry, fire-prone conditions with intense Santa Ana winds. We've just witnessed the horrific results.

Unfortunately, far worse awaits unless we accelerate climate action. Slowing, blocking, or reversing climate solutions is an utterly appalling prospect, threatening everything we hold dear.

The climate crisis is daunting, but the root cause is simple. Fossil fuels are responsible for nearly 90% of all carbon dioxide emissions and more than 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Solutions are already underway - like the switch to zero-emission electric vehicles and ramping up clean renewable electricity generation, especially rooftop solar and increased battery storage.

Moving to clean energy will yield tremendous health, environmental and economic benefits for billions of people. But it's been relentlessly opposed by the corporations that have made trillions of dollars by causing the problem.

President Trump has made promoting fossil fuels a centerpiece of his administration, calling on oil CEOs to donate $1 billion to his campaign in exchange for axing climate regulation.

The environmental laws now under attack are some of the greatest accomplishments of our three-branch, republican system of government that sprang from Henry's and others' calls to end monarchy. These laws - the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act - are the strongest in the world.

For more than half a century, civil servants in the EPA and other executive agencies have carried out Congress' directives to protect the air we breathe, the water we drink and the wondrous diversity of plants and animals in our shared web of life.

The Clean Air Act and our other flagship environmental laws are also key to addressing the climate crisis. Yet the entire slate of these protections is now under siege.

The Trump administration's assault on climate and environmental safeguards is part of a broader attack on the three branches of government, epitomized by Trump's reference to himself as "king."

It's never been more urgent for California to lead in protecting our democracy, climate and environment.

Fortunately, the world's fifth largest economy is well positioned to do so.

Gov. Newsom has far outpaced his predecessors in taking on the fossil fuel industry, labeling them "the polluted heart of the climate crisis." Newsom's crucial initiatives include suing Big Oil for lying about climate change, a state mandate to sell 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2035 and an innovative law to stop oil companies from gouging Californians at the pump. In addition, he's championed the nation's largest health and safety buffer to protect people from oil drilling and banned fracking.

At this perilous moment, it's vital that the governor and California lawmakers continue to challenge all illegal Trump administration initiatives, while accelerating California's climate progress to counter the harm of halting federal programs.

One key step for the legislature is to pass the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act, which would force the largest fossil fuel polluters to pay for their increasingly devastating and costly damage to the state. The measure would raise desperately needed funds for the climate fight and help Californians who've suffered catastrophic losses.

Like the intransigent King George III, Trump and fossil fuel polluters seem prepared to deny the inexorability of climate change to the bitter end.

In response, California must lead a peaceful revolution of our energy system to protect our climate, our democracy and a livable world for future generations.

Kassie Siegel is director of the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate Law Institute.