Five candidates for San Jose City Council District 9 answered questions at a climate-focused forum about meeting net carbon emission neutrality by 2030. All candidates expressed broad support for climate-friendly efforts, including subsidies to accelerate adoption of electric home appliances. A severe budget crisis is forcing San Jose to roll back services, and the candidates uniformly declined to promise maintaining current funding levels for programs under the Climate Smart San Jose initiative. Genny Altwer connected climate action to public safety, including pollution and emissions. Candidates also raised concerns that restricting gas appliances could impose additional costs on residents that would be difficult to afford as the city approaches its 2030 target.
"During the forum - organized by the South Bay chapter of the League of Women Voters and a coalition of local climate groups - all of the candidates expressed broad support for climate-friendly initiatives, such as the city's efforts to accelerate the adoption of electric home appliances through subsidies. However, with a punishing budget crisis forcing San Jose to roll back services, the candidates also uniformly declined to commit to maintain funding levels for those programs, which are executed under the umbrella of the city's Climate Smart San Jose initiative."
"Altwer said the city's climate programs fit neatly into her broader campaign priorities. "My biggest platform is keeping you safe, and whether that is through staffing the police department or keeping you safe from things like pollution and emissions, to me it all goes together," she said at the forum."
"But Altwer and her fellow candidates also voiced concern that placing restrictions on gas appliances could saddle residents with extra financial burdens that would be difficult to bear. Such worries echo a growing debate around local climate policy as San Jose's 2030 net zero target date gets closer - and as the Bay Area prepares for a loo"
Read at San Jose Spotlight
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]