Climate Change

Climate change is an existential threat to our nation and our planet. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the leading international body for the assessment of climate change warned in a groundbreaking report in 2022 that significant and immediate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are necessary to ensure temperatures do not rise by more than 1.5 degree Celsius and cause irreversible damage to our planet. Here at home, every community in California's 16^th Congressional District is already experiencing the impacts of a warming climate such as fierce wildfires, severe drought, and rising sea levels.

Rep. Eshoo believes Congress must take immediate action to address climate change and that established science should be the guide for making informed policy decisions. As a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, Rep. Eshoo has advanced policies to address climate change including:

Clean Energy

• Voted for President Biden's Build Back Better Act, which included $550 billion in tax credits and direct spending for clean energy, energy efficiency grants, and investments in climate science—the largest climate bill ever passed by either chamber of Congress. This legislation will help meet the President's commitment to reduce emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions economy-wide by 2050.
• Rep. Eshoo helped create the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) which was established by the COMPETES Act of 2007. APRA-E funds high-risk, high-reward energy research and development projects that have the potential to produce major technology breakthroughs.

Clean Transportation

• Voted to increase rebates for consumers to purchase electric vehicles (EVs) from $7,500 to $12,500 and expand this tax credit to used EVs.
• Cosponsored legislation to increase minimum gas mileage requirements to ensure cars emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions and less air pollution.

Other Climate Policies

• Rep. Eshoo has consistently voted to ban offshore drilling in California and other states on the West and East Coasts to prevent future oil spills and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
• Co-lead of legislation creating a carbon fee on polluters with the revenue returned to Americans as a dividend of approximately $2,974 for a family of four.

Conservation in California's 16^th Congressional District

Throughout Rep. Eshoo's service in Congress, she has consistently protected and expanded the unique landscapes of California's 16^th Congressional District for future generations.

Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument

Rep. Eshoo introduced legislation in 2015 to expand the California Coastal National Monument to include the Cotoni-Coast Dairies lands in Santa Cruz County on the scenic Pacific Coast Highway. The property stretches from Highway 1 into the Santa Cruz Mountains and is home to picturesque coastal terraces; 500 acres of redwood forest; six watersheds; and four known Native American archeological sites, with many others likely undiscovered. The name Cotoni-Coast Dairies honors the indigenous people who historically inhabited the land as well as its more recent history as a dairy. After the dairy folded in the 1950s, private development of luxury homes and a nuclear power plant were proposed which would have had a devastating impact on this land. After decades of such pressures, the Coast Dairies ranch was acquired in 1998 by the Save the Redwoods League and subsequently donated to the federal government in 2014.

As a result of Rep. Eshoo's legislative efforts, President Obama formally designated the Cotoni-Coast Dairies as a National Monument on January 12, 2017. Rep. Eshoo continues to work closely with the Bureau of Land Management to open these lands to the public, support trail construction, and minimize disruptions to local communities.

Bair Island

Rep. Eshoo secured federal funding to purchase Bair Island and then added it to the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Working with the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), Citizens to Complete the Refuge, and thousands of constituents, she successfully protected 1,600 acres of critical wetlands and permanently preserved them for future generations. This action sustains a critical habitat for 123 species of birds, 13 species of mammals, and 63 species of fish.

South San Francisco Bay Wetlands

In 2003, Rep. Eshoo led her California House colleagues in securing $8 million for the purchase of thousands of acres of precious San Francisco Bay wetlands from Cargill, Inc. With federal seed money and support, the state and federal government, along with four prominent California foundations (the Hewlett/Packard/Moore/Goldman Foundations), approximately 15,000 acres of southern San Francisco Bay lands were acquired for inclusion in the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Under the leadership of the California Department of Fish and Game, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the California Coastal Conservancy, the process of returning these salt ponds to suitable tidal habitat is underway.

In the years following this initial purchase, Rep. Eshoo secured millions of dollars in federal funding to enable the Army Corps of Engineers to initiate a study of the South Bay Shoreline. This work will protect against flooding and foster the overall restoration effort.