What is Prop 4 (the CA Climate Bond)?
Proposition 4—also known as the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024—is a rare opportunity for Californians to make a real impact on climate change with their vote on the Nov. 5, 2024 ballot. If passed, it will authorize the state to borrow $10 billion to make urgent investments in proven solutions that address the threat of climate change to California communities, wildlife, and habitat.
Why does Audubon California support Prop. 4?
Prop. 4 offers us a real opportunity to ensure a better future for California’s natural treasures, including its incredible birds and landscapes, while at the same time protecting California’s diverse communities.
Audubon California joined forces with more than 180 conservation and environmental justice organizations, as well as key legislative partners, to give Californians this chance to make a real difference on climate change. We need to grasp this unprecedented opportunity.
Audubon also knows that bond measures like Prop 4 provide real benefits for birds, other wildlife, and our communities. For example, Prop 84 in 2006 helped to fund X. Proposition 1 in 2014 provided over $100 million to deliver much-needed water to drought-stricken Central Valley wildlife refuges. Proposition 68 in 2018 led to the creation of new parks along the Los Angeles River, provided habitat and outdoor recreational opportunities in some of our most densely urban neighborhoods.
How will the money be spent?
Investments from Prop. 4 will fall into eight important categories:
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Protect biodiversity and implement nature-based climate solutions: $1.2 billion
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Wildfire and forest resilience: $1.5 billion
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Safe drinking water, drought, flood, and water resilience: $3.8 billion
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Sea level rise and coastal resilience: $1.2 billion
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Clean air programs: $850 million
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Park creation and outdoor access: $700 million
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Climate-smart and sustainable farms, ranches, and working lands: $300 million
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Extreme heat mitigation: $450 million
How will Prop. 4 help birds?
Prop. 4 makes important investments to reduce wildfires, improve forest resilience, land protection, habitat conservation, working lands partnerships, and parks. Here are some specifics:
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$870 million to the Wildlife Conservation Board, which provides primary funding for habitat conservation easements, restoration, and management in the state.
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$700 million for Park creation and increased outdoor access, focusing on areas lacking parks and green space, such as the Central Valley and densely urban parts of Los Angeles.
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$335 million toward rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands, including 19 state and federal refuges and wildlife areas in the Central Valley essential for migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway.
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$300 million on climate-smart and sustainable farms, ranches, and working lands, funding programs like Audubon’s Conservation Ranching Program to promote sustainable, bird-friendly practices.
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$200 million for the Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program, facilitating the transition of agricultural lands to sustainable uses and potentially creating tens of thousands of acres of habitat in the Central Valley.
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$170 million for the Salton Sea Management Program, creating 14,500 acres of wetland habitat and additional dust control mitigation to protect local communities from dust storms.
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$85 million for habitat restoration in the San Francisco Bay.
Why now?
California has always led the country on addressing climate change and its causes. But the state’s recent budget cuts and the urgency of increasing climate impacts led lawmakers to dramatically to pass the bond as another source of funds. Climate change isn’t waiting a better state budget outlook. Failing to make these investments now will cost our state much more in the future.
How will people benefit from these investments in the outdoors?
The bond will address critical needs in California State Parks by investing $175 million in deferred maintenance projects, such as repairing roads and trails, creating more opportunities for Californians throughout the state to connect with birds and nature. Additionally, Proposition 4 allocates $50 million to sea level rise adaptation projects on state beaches, ensuring that they will continue to be available for recreational use in the future—and great places to watch marine birds.
How will Prop. 4 ensure that money gets where it is needed most?
This proposition is unique among past initiatives in that it allocates at least 40% of its funding to underserved and climate-vulnerable communities, many of which have not received funding in past bond efforts.
How does Prop 4 ensure strict accountability and keep costs in check?
By shifting from disaster response to a prevention approach, Prop 4 will help us save billions in future costs from wildfire damage, water shortages, and insurance and utility bills for families. It includes annual, independent audits on funding and full transparency on all spending.
