Sacramento, Calif. – The following is a statement from Audubon California Public Policy Director Mike Lynes following last Thursday’s vote on Assembly Bill 378 in the California State Assembly.

“Audubon California is extremely disappointed that the California Assembly has failed to pass Assembly Bill 378 to extend California’s leadership in climate policy. This is particularly disappointing in light of the Trump Administration’s announcement that it would pull out of the Paris Agreement and abdicate our country’s leadership in responding to the climate change crisis.

“The members of the Assembly that voted against AB 378 claim it was not due to pressure from the oil industry and other well-heeled special interests. Nonetheless they have delivered a win to those who profit from their pollution and contributions to global greenhouse gasses. These Assembly members cannot claim to care about climate change and continue to stymie efforts to implement real climate policy in California. It’s time for them to live up to their rhetoric.

“Audubon California is confident that Gov. Brown and the state’s leadership will step up to the challenge this year and find a way to renew the state’s groundbreaking cap-and-trade program that is so essential to California’s ambitious goals for global greenhouse gas reduction.”

Carbon pollution is not only a leading cause of global warming, but a direct threat to the health of citizens and the environment. According to recent Audubon research, 170 California birds are at risk of extinction due to global warming. More immediate is the threat that carbon pollution presents to birds and habitat, needless to say public health. Not surprisingly, research has also linked carbon pollution to declining bird health and habitat loss. It even suggests that carbon pollution is reducing the value of agricultural crops.