The bills, SB 32, sponsored by Senator Fran Pavle, and AB 197, sponsored by Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia, had been introduced in 2014 and 2015, respectively.
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With the nation’s most populous state on pace to meet that target, Gov.
SB 32 codifies goals already set to establish a statewide emissions reduction target of 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 the most aggressive benchmark enacted by any government in North America.
It was Pavely, the first mayor of Agoura Hills who will soon end 16 years in the state Legislature, who recalled the thick brown layer of smog over Los Angeles.
It will “keep California on the move to clean up the environment”, Brown said before the signing.
SB 32’s 2030 goal could help make it possible to reach the ultimate goal of reducing emissions 80 percent under 1990 levels by 2050. “In the ’50s and ’60s, for anyone old enough to remember those days, we had red flag alerts because of the auto pollution. And today we gather to celebrate a new milestone”.
Since California became a green leader by passing the climate change law a decade ago, the state has seen a flourishing clean-energy industry, said Carlson, the UCLA law professor.
While her bill continues California’s leadership on climate policy, with many other states expected to follow suit, she said it will work hand-in-hand with AB 197 to make sure greenhouse gas limits are implemented fairly.
The state plans to build on that foundation and ramp up other efforts including increasing renewable electricity use, boosting energy efficiency in existing buildings and putting 1.5 million zero-emissions vehicles on the road, according to the California Air Resources Board, which is in charge of climate policy.
Now signed into law, Senate Bill 32, by Sen. The future of the program appears tenuous amid a court challenge, and Brown’s effort to include language authorizing cap-and-trade beyond 2020 this year fell flat. “For me, it is extremely important that we focus on people, people of color, communities that are set back”.
The new law puts “very severe caps on the emission of greenhouse gases in California without requiring the regulatory agencies to give any consideration” to how it will affect the economy and residents, the California Chamber of Commerce said in a statement.
From across the state, dozens of environmental groups weighed in. Otherwise, he said, the state would have to rely on more drastic policies to reach its emissions goals.
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Brown has said the legislation could provide leverage to convince businesses to support an extension of cap-and-trade, which requires polluters to pay to offset carbon emissions.
