If Kern County is going to move further toward sustainable energy, it\u2019s going to need everyone on board.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
That was one key message Wednesday from an environmental policy workshop hosted by the Kern Community College District, as the California Energy Commission solicited insights in advance of the publication of its 2022 Integrated Energy Policy Report update.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The IEPR helps guide the governor\u2019s office as it creates policy. This year, seeking to develop an \u201cequity and environmental justice framework\u201d to guide its work, the CEC scheduled three workshops in areas deemed \u201cdisadvantaged\u201d by its CalEnviroScreen pollution assessment tool. Bakersfield was selected to represent the San Joaquin Valley, the first time an IEPR workshop has taken place in Kern County.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The equity workshop, featuring local, state and national policy makers, began with opportunities for these leaders to evaluate their progress toward sustainable energy. KCCD Chancellor Sonya Christian highlighted a $50 million allocation in the state budget for the district\u2019s California Renewable Energy Center of Excellence, with its focuses on workforce development and community engagement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The discussion took on a different tone as Lori Pesante, civic engagement director for the Dolores Huerta Foundation, noted that the energy workforce features members of disenfranchised groups who suffer the consequences of environmental issues like methane leaks and polluted water. Citing a proverb \u2014 \u201cUntil the lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter\u201d \u2014 Pesante added that these workers don\u2019t often get the chance to construct policy themselves, but should occupy a primary position in such discussions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cIf we\u2019re going to be sequestering carbon using some of the same techniques that were used to extract it in the first place,\u201d Pesante said, \u201cI think that we need to be really clear about what that means, and it\u2019s not just us who need to understand it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The issue of \u201cjust transition\u201d \u2014 ensuring that workers are protected as the economy shifts away from oil and gas toward clean energy \u2014 involves a variety of logistical factors, added U.S. Department of Energy Senior Advisor Betony Jones. Electric-vehicle manufacturing should occur where oil workers live to help them switch over. And those workers should be able to obtain credentials that aid them in acquiring EV jobs, Jones added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cIf a lot of workers in oil and gas have mainly learned on the job,\u201d she said, \u201cthen their experience isn\u2019t necessarily documented in any way that they can take to a new job.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Shrayas Jatkar, a policy specialist at the California Workforce Development Board, reminded colleagues to consider \u201cwhat needs might still exist in the oil and gas sector\u201d as part of a just transition, like remediating land and capping wells.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
In response to a question from CEC Vice Chair Siva Gunda on building trust locally, Jatkar suggested as an example, \u201cIf there is a vote to be taken, maybe community groups get three votes to somebody else\u2019s one vote. That is a way to try to address what is otherwise going to be very fraught and difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Throughout the workshop, though, several speakers cited instances of successful community outreach. For example, Norma Rojas-Mora, executive director of government relations and development at Bakersfield College, mentioned a Rural Poverty and Health Equity Summit the school held in Delano in 2019. It was fruitful, she said, without taking place in the \u201cbiggest, shiniest\u201d location.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThe biggest feedback we got,\u201d Rojas-Mora said, \u201cwas, \u2018Thank you so much for providing such a space, hosting a summit in one of the rural communities.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The CEC will accept written comments on the workshop through Aug. 10.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n