SoCal Tree Project Faces Frozen Funds, and National Parks Brace for More Cuts
Climate action efforts in California are moving forward, despite a growing number of obstacles.
Welcome to issue number eight of State of Change, a project of the Climate Equity Reporting Project at Berkeley Journalism.
Featured Stories
RYSE Says it Can’t Fully Use Solar-Powered Emergency Shelter Due to PG&E Delays By Taylor Barton
Richmond youth center’s community hub for climate-related emergencies is missing out on cost savings due to connection delays, officials say.
Trump Takes Aim at the People Who Protect National Parks from Climate Change
By Twilight Greenaway
After mass firings and rehiring, thousands of federal employees are bracing for deeper cuts—just as wildfires, floods, and rising temperatures threaten national parks. At risk are programs that help the parks adapt to climate change as well as those that create and maintain important carbon sinks.
The Big Picture
What Would Trump’s Tariffs Mean for California Climate Action?
Although the Trump Administration put a temporary pause last week on many of the tariffs it has threatened to enact, the escalating trade war with China will undoubtedly have an impact on climate action and the energy transition here in California.
About 75% of the components used to build solar panels—solar cells and modules—come from outside the U.S. and most originate in China. And while many of the Chinese companies have moved their factories to other Asian countries, allowing them to put off the tariffs for the next 90 days—it’s not looking great for the U.S. solar industry in the near term. That said, Bloomberg reported that solar developers have been hoarding piles of solar panels for more than a year. “The stockpile is now so big that analysts estimate there’s roughly 50 gigawatts worth of the equipment in warehouses. That’s enough panels to power about 8.6 million homes,” the outlet reports.
The tariffs Trump threatened to put in place—and will likely reinstate—could also have profound effects on the bicycle industry, which largely relies on imports from Taiwan and Vietnam. Electric cars and trucks will also likely become more expensive. Burgeoning U.S. mineral mining efforts could also grind to a halt.
But it’s not just renewables that would be impacted by tariffs. Oil executives haven’t vocally criticized the president, but behind the scenes they’ve admitted to worrying that “they could be forced to slow drilling, slash spending, and most likely lay off workers.”
Trump Administration Goes After State and Local Climate Laws
In addition to shifting federal funding and policies toward more oil and gas extraction and production and away from renewable energy, the Trump administration is now threatening to go after state-level regulations that they perceive as “threatening American energy dominance.” The latest executive order—which directs the U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to identify state and local policies that “seek to regulate energy beyond their constitutional or statutory authorities”—puts California right in the administration’s crosshairs. California’s cap and trade program and the newly reintroduced Make Polluters Pay Act will likely be at the top of Bondi’s list. And while some environmental groups see the move as an intimidation tactic, Amy Turner, director of the Cities Climate Law Initiative at Columbia’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, wrote on the center’s website:
“The executive order does little in itself beyond direct the review of state and local climate laws the attorney general’s office will take over the next two months. It does not directly challenge, prohibit, argue preempted, or enjoin any state or local law. But it is likely a forerunner to litigation, lawmaking, or the withholding of federal funds.”
Trump Wants to Keep producing Coal to Power AI
Meanwhile, Trump released another executive order that aims to use the Defense Production Act—a wartime law—to boost waning coal production plants in order to power the AI data centers in Silicon Valley and beyond.
More California Climate News
Climate Impacts
The Affordable Insurance and Climate Recovery Act, which would have allowed insurers and disaster victims to take fossil fuel companies to court to recover the costs of climate disasters, would have failed to pass the state’s Senate Judiciary committee last week. Scott Weiner, the bill’s author, called it “a huge missed opportunity for California to lead.”
In an interview with the LA Times, Pedro Pizarro, president and chief executive officer of Edison International, the company that owns Southern California Edison, said, “We still don’t know whether Edison equipment caused the Eaton fire. It’s certainly possible it did.” Pizarro went on to talk about climate change, the urban-wildlife interface, and serving high-risk areas. Then, a week later, the LA Times reported that shortly after the fire the utility had quietly changed an internal policy on how crews should ground idle electrical pylons, leading to speculation about the cause of the fire.
Transportation
EV chargers now outnumber gas pumps in California. The state has an estimated 178,000 shared chargers for EVs—not counting 700,000 chargers installed in single-family homes. That’s compared to roughly 120,000 gas pumps across the state. Between 2023 to 2024, the charger totals released by the California Energy Commission more than doubled, illustrating the state’s continued commitment to expanding zero-emission transportation. In his announcement of the new estimates, Governor Gavin Newsom said California is working to make charging an electric car easier, despite the federal government’s intent to do the opposite. “We’re embracing our clean car future and providing consumers more choices—no matter what ‘big government’ mandates come out of Washington,” he said.
As the nation’s busiest seaports, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are the biggest sources of air pollution in the region. The South Coast Air Quality Management District released a first draft of a proposed rule that would require the two ports to develop plans to meet the clean-air goals they set for themselves in 2017. Those goals include switching 100% of diesel equipment to zero emission by 2030, as well as switching trucks to run on electricity or hydrogen by 2035. However, environmental advocates say the air district’s rule does not go far enough or move fast enough to clean up port pollution. “The response from the district has been disappointing (and) we see that the ports drag their feet and delay action,” Bill Magavern, a policy director for Coalition for Clean Air, told CalMatters. The air district has requested public input on the proposed rule, which will likely be voted on this summer.
The Senate parliamentarian ruled that a federal waiver granted to California under the 1970 Clean Air Act is not subject to the Congressional Review Act, “which permits lawmakers to reverse recently-adopted regulations with a simple majority vote.” The waiver, received last year from the Biden administration, allowed the state to impose a stricter automobile emission standard than the federal one. As a result, California enacted a plan to require all new cars sold in the state by 2035 be zero-emission. The ruling creates a major roadblock for the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress who hoped to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to kill policies that incentivize electric vehicles. Democratic Senators Alex Padilla (CA), Adam Schiff (CA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) championed the decision as a victory for climate policies. However, Republicans in Congress have still pressed forward in their attempt to dismantle the state’s waivers. According to The Hill, a few hours after the ruling was released, Senate Republicans issued a statement saying they had introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution targeting the waiver anyway. And yet, Politico points out, overruling the parliamentarian—who is supposed to be neutral—could set a dangerous precedent for all of Congress.
Revel, a startup based in New York, opened its latest public charging station in San Francisco last month, and plans to begin construction on seven more Bay Area sites this year. To speed up the process of getting EV chargers connected to a crowded urban power grid, the company has entered two of its upcoming sites into a new PG&E program to fast-track EV charging hubs. Under a condition of the program, the two companies will pursue a “flexible service connection” approach at a site in Oakland and one near San Francisco International Airport.
This approach would mean that station operators would reduce the amount of power chargers can deliver when PG&E expects the maximum power draw to overburden the grid. Neema Yazdi, a strategic analyst on PG&E’s clean energy transportation team, told Canary Media that both the customers and the utility win out under this model. He said Revel and PG&E will be able to expand EV charging infrastructure faster than they would otherwise be able to, while customer connection to chargers will be quicker and more seamless. Additionally, the approach reduces pressure on PG&E to make grid upgrades fast, which could lessen electricity rates in the Bay Area. And as for the state, an increase in EV chargers helps move the needle closer to its zero-emission goals.In an Op-Ed in Planetizen, Todd Litman argues that communities should support and subsidize high-quality public transit for eight reasons: for fairness’ sake, to reduce traffic problems, to increase traffic safety, to increase economic productivity, to increase affordability, for transit service efficiency, to support more compact and efficient development, and to support decongestion tolls. “Public transit is a terrific product; it benefits virtually everybody, including people who don’t currently use it but gain from reduced traffic and parking congestion, increased traffic safety and reduced chauffeuring burdens,” he said. We’d add reduced greenhouse gas emissions to the list.
Public transportation in the Bay Area is still far below what it was before the pandemic, but it appears to be picking back up. As of February, the newly electrified CalTrain service in the Bay Area has seen a 49% rise in ridership over the previous year. The new trains offer WiFi, are faster than ever before and the Caltrain officials say wait times have dropped. On Sundays, ridership on the new trains is surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
Building Decarbonization
The entire staff of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) were laid off by the Trump administration last week as part of a dramatic restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services, AP reports. With no staff, state officials are left wondering whether the $4.1 billion program will continue. LIHEAP helps millions of low-income households pay for heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer. The program also provides people from marginalized groups, including seniors and people living with disabilities, with free energy efficiency upgrades to lower their monthly utility costs, while also improving the health and safety of the occupants. While the majority of aid had already been distributed to the states for this fiscal year, the program still had $378 million that had yet to be delivered. Nonprofit groups around California are wondering they will receive the remaining funds.
In March, the California Heat Pump Partnership announced a statewide blueprint to achieve California’s ambitious goal of installing 6 million heat pumps by 2030. “The blueprint lays out a raft of solutions to make heat pumps more desirable and affordable,” reporter Alison F. Takemura wrote in Canary Media. It emphasizes that building customer demand and contractor support is key in making heat pumps more appealing and convenient.
The state is currently projected to fall short of its target goal by 2 million units. However, under its new blueprint, the California Heat Pump Partnership is now deploying 1.9 million heat pumps. Advised by a council of installers, trade associations, workforce educators and other stakeholders, the partnership intends to launch a marketing campaign to increase consumer awareness of the appliances’ benefits. The blueprint advises targeting specific markets, such as the Bay Area—where all new water heaters and furnaces but be electric starting in 2027 and 2029 respectively—could help expand heat pump adoption.
Mendocino county may be slower to move toward electric appliances than other parts of the state, but the city of Ukiah’s Electric Utility and Climate Action Mendicino are working to change that. The two groups created a self-guided tour for those curious to explore five homes that have fully electrified, including one in a new 72-unit apartment complex.
Last December, Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur reintroduced AB 39, the Local Electrification Planning Act, which would require cities and local jurisdictions like Ukiah to incorporate building electrification into their planning processes. The bill was scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Local Government Committee on April 9.
The Energy Transition
For nearly a decade, the Ivanpah solar power tower has been generating solar power in the Mojave Desert, using its mirrors to reflect sunlight onto a receiver and generate electricity for more than 140,000 homes in California. The solar power plant had purchase agreements with PG&E and Southern California Edison. Due to costs of solar panels dropping, the plant is now too expensive to compete in the market—and PG&E is moving to end their agreement, which could mean Ivanpah could close next year.
This new chart shows that Clean energy is booming—2024 saw over 700 gigawatts of power, mostly solar, used globally with China leading in the sector. Even though renewable energy is hitting record highs—generating over 40% of the world’s electricity—emissions have also continued to rise across the globe due to an increased demand for electricity due to factors such as the rise in AI data centers and more demand for air conditioning.
In response to the anti-science policies of the Trump Administration, a new bill in California is proposing the creation of the state’s own agency to replace the National Institute of Health called the California Institute for Scientific Research. In addition to funding research on vaccines and other biomedical research, the agency would provide grants and loans for scientists working on climate-related research. The bill’s author, California State Senator Scott Wiener states that if Trump succeeds in his plan to cut NIH funding that the proposed bill will be able to protect research in the state.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that is odorless and invisible, making it very difficult to detect when industrial facilities spring leaks. In response to the Trump administration's pullback on environmental policy, California has launched a project that will help track methane gas emissions in the state. Funded using $100 million from the state’s cap and trade program, the effort will use satellite-mounted sensors to help communities and state agencies monitor, and ultimately reduce methane emissions.
Housing
Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are seen as an important tool in adding density, and making California’s cities easier to traverse without cars. But homeowners and contractors are facing significant delays in building (ADUs) in the Bay Area due the slow processing of electrical connections by the investor-owned utility, Pacific, Gas and Electric (PG&E). Critics say the construction delays are hindering efforts to address California’s housing crisis with some reporting delays of up to a year.
Waste
For the first time in over a decade, California is moving to strengthen its landfill methane regulations with a new satellite monitoring program that will help cut emissions in the state. The program has received support from the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which will provide updates on new technology that could be introduced to the program, including drones and planes. Although California has been a leader nationally in measuring and responding to methane emissions from landfills, it’s now lagging behind. According to Kim Finaly, a senior analyst at industrial climate solutions group Industrious Labs, in order to make big advancements in cutting methane emissions, the state needs to combine updates to the satellite monitoring program with SB 1383, the law that requires most cities and counties around the state to collect food waste for composting.
California is only one of multiple states using more advanced technologies—drones and satellites—to monitor methane emissions. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is also updating its landfill emissions policies to include stricter methane gas emission limits, longer gas collection requirements at closed landfills, and the implementation of new technology that will provide real-time gas extraction adjustments. The new rules are expected to be enforced by as early as 2027.
Agriculture
In a recent op-ed, professor and author Liz Carlisle argued that California has a “golden opportunity to fund climate-smart agriculture.” As she points out, the Los Angeles wildfires opened people’s eyes to the devastating reality of climate change whilst also showing that the state needs to be the leader in climate solutions. Out of the state’s 90 agriculture programs, she adds, the 20 climate-smart agriculture programs are the most cost effective, yet receive only 2% of the funding. Investing into climate-smart agriculture programs, she adds, will help farmers save money by reducing their need for fertilizer and pesticides and it will also potentially store carbon in the soil that would otherwise be in the atmosphere, where it adds to warming.
In recent years, scientists and farmers have been working to develop crop varieties that will be able withstand the effects of climate change. But funding, which peaked in 2002, has not kept pace. Now, what remains of the funding for climate-focused ag research is in jeopardy, as the Trump administration pauses and shutters programs funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Meanwhile, China has doubled the amount of funding it puts into agricultural research.
A Little Good News
For the first time in 25 years, California has seen three consecutive years of above-average snowpacks with the Sierra Nevada. As it melts, the snowpack provides nearly a third of California’s annual water supply. This month, it hit 96% of average. Three years of wetter-than-average conditions has provided a reprieve from the extreme drought conditions the state experienced from 2020-2022.
Grist published a strong overview of the work leading up to the recent dam removal project in the Klamath river. The project marks the end of an effort by a group of Indigenous tribes, including the Yurok, Karuk, and Klamath Tribes, that lasted nearly two decades, and is being seen as a major victory for communities, salmon, and the environment. Hundreds of miles of rivers are now reconnected and will be managed by the tribes.
Cultural burning to restore ecosystems and reduce the impact of wildfires is also making a comeback in California thanks to the Yurok and Karuk Tribes and other Indigenous communities. Governor Gavin Newsom announced a goal of burning some 300,000 acres in 2025, but it’s yet to be seen whether burning at that scale will be possible.
Q&A: TreePeople’s Climate Resilience Work Hit by a $14 Million Freeze
By Iris Araujo
When the founders of TreePeople chose their name, they omitted the space between the two words to illustrate the ancient interdependence between trees and people. The group has been lining streets with trees for over 50 years, transforming under-resourced parts of southern California—including South LA, the San Gabriel Valley, and the Inland Empire—through tree planting, community engagement, career development, and education.
TreePeople works to reduce the urban heat island effect, improve air quality, and increase access to nature. And as cities across California face increasing challenges brought on by a warming climate—from extreme heat to worsening drought—the organization’s mission to empower communities with trees has never been more critical. And yet, TreePeople is also facing a gap in funding after the Trump administration has frozen $14 million. The funds were supposed to pay for 35 full-time employees and the planting and distribution of 19,000 trees.
We spoke with Alex Miller, TreePeople’s director of marketing and communications, about the group’s work and the challenges of the current federal funding freeze.
What is the main focus at TreePeople?
We're interested in shade equity and combating the effects of redlining. We want to make sure that all southern California residents have the same access to shade and cooling, without being burned by the heat islands.
We go into these places that have been essentially left behind by our government when they were building out the suburbs, and we just line the streets with trees. We're getting people who live there to come help us plant trees and care for them.
We don't just plant and leave. We're there for three to five years, taking care of the trees, making them more likely to survive. Street trees only live about 7 to 13 years. It's challenging to be a street tree, all the pollution, the dog pee, the weed whackers hitting them. However, our trees are more likely to make it past that 13-year mark.
What are the challenges and barriers involved in expanding tree coverage in lower-income communities?
It's interesting because it depends on the city. We find that the smaller cities are so grateful to have us that they will do their best to support us. The city of San Fernando, for example, literally lets us take water from the fire hydrants. TreePeople is 50 years old so we have a wealth of knowledge and a wealth of relationships, and these great relationships allow us to do things like that, which are mutually beneficial.
We also focus on school greening in these areas, which is a synthesis of all our work. We do everything to educate everyone about the benefits of trees, from our planting events to our tree care events. We also bring up 12,000 school kids a year to our park to do an eco-tour. And we have 38 projects with schools right now. We're either helping schools design their projects to implement later or we are actively present, removing asphalt, planting trees, and creating gardens. There are so many days in August and September when the kids cannot go outside to play because the weather is too hot and the asphalt is burning. Trees can help create shade and they naturally cool the playgrounds.
Do those schools use less energy by using less air conditioning?
Oh, totally. With shade, it can be up to 40 degrees cooler on the surface and up to 10 degrees cooler in the air. Take a place like Los Feliz, which has 30% canopy coverage. If you go a couple of miles down the road, to Boyle Heights, it can be seven degrees hotter because Los Feliz has a higher canopy coverage. This is the case with all these parking lots, all these black tops near schools, and all of our streets, which are just pumping that heat back out. They cannot cool. The trees, on the contrary, do cool the city. They provide shade so that all this asphalt and concrete can absorb the heat.
How else is TreePeople addressing the urban heat island effect in the LA region?
We're planting in schools, in our communities and our mountains, but we are also creating urban forest management plans. We are talking to cities. For example, we've [planted] one in Huntington Park, and one in San Fernando, among others.
We're also helping cities figure out plans for their forestry departments, understanding which trees are going to be most climate resilient. For example, we try to plant natives whenever possible, but we can't plant an oak in a two foot Parkway. It's going to rip up the sidewalk and get taken out by the city. So we have to figure out trees that are climate adapted, that are going to survive these extreme droughts and heat, and then also fit in the area. And, if there's a power line above it can't grow over 20 feet. So we are creating a list of inventory for cities, to know which trees they should choose, as well as plans to help cities prioritize and how to look at one’s cityscape to be more climate resilient.
You mentioned water being an important factor in planting trees. How do you balance tree planting with water conservation when you’re in more drought prone areas?
Trees actually really help conserve water. Three big things you want to do when you're capturing water is slow, spread, and sink. They are needed for the water to get into the ground table, back into our aquifers. So trees really help slow the water down. Think about it—if you're out in the rain, you can go under a tree and it becomes a trickle, versus dumping rain. They are slowing down rain so that our ground can absorb it and not just let it run off. Also keep in mind, when you're using water, you're using power. So the question is how can we conserve all these things? And truly, it all comes back to trees. They are the only piece of infrastructure that gains value over time. Compared to streets that need to be repaired regularly, trees just get bigger and provide more shade.
Is TreePeople planning to help tackle the aftermath of the recent fires?
We have a project coming up in Altadena right now, and we will be working in fire scars for the foreseeable future.
All our mountain restoration projects are based in former fire scars. We are going in there and removing invasives, these plants that we, as humans, brought there and should not be there, and that keep growing back. Unfortunately, all these invasive plants, like black mustard, will outcompete our native plants. So we go in, and remove invasives. As an example, a fire jumped over one of our cleaned sites recently because we had cleared it of all this brush.
Native plants are adapted to fire, extreme heat, and also less water. But they also benefit us. Oaks, for example, can actually help harden your home from a fire, because they're so used to fire that they can burn on the inside—we call it a cat eye—and stay alive. They will really help slow a fire down. It takes a lot for an oak to catch fire, unless it's been diseased, which we help address. If an oak tree is healthy, it's actually going to help slow a fire down and potentially protect your house.
What policies or funding mechanisms are most needed to scale up urban tree-planting efforts?
We got hit by the federal funding freeze. There's $14 million on the line and this is really hitting our community for street projects and potentially some of our mountain forestry. We're not thrilled that the federal government has not prioritized this. There's never been enough focus on forestry at the city, state, and federal level. There has been a lack of investment historically, and to see funding get slashed, when it actually needs to be increased, is just really sad.
I will say, recently the state government has really prioritized planting and it's been great to see that commitment. That's where the majority of our funds come from.
How can people and organizations support or get involved in your work?
We have over 1,000 volunteer opportunities a year. We also have a Wildfire Resilience Fund. If you want to donate to the fund, your donation will be matched, and it truly will be making an impact.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
