“We had our eyes on the CPA to make sure they didn’t back-down
to the fossil fuel companies,” said Kristin Casper, campaigner for
Greenpeace’s Clean Energy Now! Campaign in California. “Now that it
has let the clean energy cat out of the bag, even the big energy
utilities and their allies in Sacramento can’t put it back in.”
Greenpeace’s first priority at the meeting was to stop the
development of 2000 Megawatts of gas-fired peaker plants by
investing in clean energy, like wind, solar, and other non-hydro
renewable energy forms. As well, the environmental group demanded
that the CPA address global warming in its mission statement. As a
result of the Greenpeace work, the Board members have placed a
moratorium on financing gas-fired peaker plants and have redirected
the focus of the CPA to finance renewable energy and conservation
to meet statutory mandates of ensuring energy stability and
reducing price volatility.
Greenpeace also called for a more open process, and the CPA
agreed. CPA members openly admitted that their efforts to engage
stakeholders were inadequate, and promised to actively seek out
effected communities and individuals for their participation in
future meetings. Greenpeace is demanding that the CPA hold future
meetings outside of the Sacramento area to garner broad public
participation.
“What an about face!,” said JP Ross,
Policy Analyst for Greenpeace’s Clean Energy Now! campaign in
California. “The CPA is putting all its cards on the table now,
making it a lot easier for Greenpeace to make sure fossil fuel
lobbyists don’t try to stack the deck in their favor.”
