State lawmakers are nearing a high-stakes decision that will decide the fate of a climate initiative that Gov. Jerry Brown holds up as a model to be replicated around the world to confront rising global temperatures.
The vote Monday on whether to give another decade of life to California's cap-and-trade program has global implications, as the largest U.S. state moves to be a leader in reducing carbon emissions at a time when President Trump is pulling back from fighting global warming.
Brown portrays the initiative as essential for the survival of civilization, but critics say it fails to aggressively combat pollution. It is one of his highest priorities as he nears the end of his fourth term, but he's struggled to line up support from two-thirds of lawmakers that he will need to pass the extension.
The program expires in 2020 if lawmakers don't renew it.
Brown sounded an apocalyptic tone in a rare personal appeal before a Senate committee last week, telling lawmakers that failing to pass his bill would lead to fires, disease and mass migration, not to mention higher costs for food and gasoline.