$10B state climate bond’s effect on SF projects unclear

San Francisco officials and environmental advocates say a $10 billion climate bond will help The City withstand damage associated with the warming planet’s changing weather patterns, but it’s not yet clear what local projects the money will fund.

Californians will vote in November on Proposition 4, a bond measure seeking to fund climate and environmental programs such as improving communities’ access to clean drinking water and protecting them from increasingly extreme floods and wildfires.

Analysts estimate that the bond would cost the state $650 million a year for roughly the next 30 years as taxpayers pay it back with interest.

Joseph Piasecki, a policy and public affairs coordinator for San Francisco’s Department of the Environment , said the bond will provide “essential on-the-ground measures for climate adaptation and will enable the state to support communities and prepare for the severity, frequency and impacts of climate-related natural disasters.”

Of the $10 billion proposed in the climate bond, $3.8 billion would be set aside for drinking water and groundwater upgrades around the state, while $1.5 billion would be allocated to wildfire and forest programs. Roughly $450 million would go toward extreme-heat mitigation and $850 million would be carved out for clean-air programs.

Three hundred million dollars would go toward sustainable farms, ranches and working lands, while programs dedicated to improving park creation and outdoor access would get $700 million. Rising sea levels would be addressed to the tune of $1.2 billion, the same amount that would go towards biodiversity protection and nature-based climate-solution programs.

Piasecki said the breadth of potential projects eligible for funding mean it is “probably too soon to speculate” about which local ones the bond could support. He added that there should be more clarity if the bond passes, at which point the state would provide additional guidance.

Officials with the California State Coastal Conservancy , which has jurisdiction in the nine-county Bay Area, declined comment to The Examiner regarding specifics about the bond.

Piasecki said the measure “is a good next step” but that “more investments will be needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate the state’s transition away from fossil fuels.”

Should a majority of voters approve the bond in the fall, environmental advocates said California will be set up for further success in making inroads toward mitigating damage from climate change . Proponents of the bond said they worried the state’s progress would stall after Gov. Gavin Newsom cut $9.4 billion in funding from the 2022 California Climate Commitment plan.

The bond proposal itself also stalled in Calfironia’s State Legislature, spending more than a year in committee. Climate Bond Now , a coalition of more than 180 environmental, environmental justice and sustainable-agriculture organizations, formed to support the bond’s passage.

In a statement, the coalition said it “has been encouraging state leaders to adopt a climate bond framework focused on the communities and natural resources most at risk, while supporting investments to protect safe drinking water and clean air, prevent wildfires, help communities prepare for extreme heat, promote sustainable agriculture and mitigate sea-level rise.”

“This framework paved the way for widespread support of the final bond agreement,” the coalition said.