Governor Newsom Signs Sweeping Climate Measures, Ushering in New Era of World-Leading Climate Action
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New California laws will create 4 million jobs, reduce the state’s oil use by 91%, cut air pollution by 60%, protect communities from oil drilling, and accelerate the state’s transition to clean energy
Legislative package complements record $54 billion climate budget that focuses on equity and economic opportunity
MARE ISLAND – Today, California enacted some of the nation’s most aggressive climate measures in history as Governor Gavin Newsom signed a sweeping package of legislation to cut pollution, protect Californians from big polluters, and accelerate the state’s transition to clean energy. The Governor partnered with legislative leaders this session to advance groundbreaking measures to achieve carbon neutrality no later than 2045 and 90% clean energy by 2035, establish new setback measures protecting communities from oil drilling, capture carbon pollution from the air, advance nature-based solutions, and more.
This is an essential piece of the California Climate Commitment, a record $54 billion investment in climate action that exceeds what most countries are spending and advances economic opportunity and environmental justice in communities across the state.
Over the next two decades, the California Climate Commitment will:
- Create 4 million new jobs
- Cut air pollution by 60%
- Reduce state oil consumption by 91%
- Save California $23 billion by avoiding the damages of pollution
- Reduce fossil fuel use in buildings and transportation by 92%
- Cut refinery pollution by 94%
Taken together, these measures represent the most significant action on the climate crisis in California’s history and raises the bar for governments around the world.
“This month has been a wake-up call for all of us that later is too late to act on climate change. California isn’t waiting any more,” said Governor Newsom. “Together with the Legislature, California is taking the most aggressive action on climate our nation has ever seen. We’re cleaning the air we breathe, holding the big polluters accountable, and ushering in a new era for clean energy. That’s climate action done the California Way – and we’re not only doubling down, we’re just getting started.”
In Vallejo, Governor Newsom signs sweeping climate measures into law
With multiple oil refineries in the distance, the Governor signed the legislation alongside legislative leaders at the USDA Forest Service Regional Office on Mare Island, a facility powered by clean energy that also feeds the grid.
“Our state has been facing extreme temperatures, putting our communities, especially our most vulnerable neighbors, at risk. We’re also continuing to deal with an historic drought and the ongoing threat of wildfires. The challenges of climate change are here, and this Legislative session, we took bold action to address these severe conditions and mitigate future risk both through our state budget and key legislation,” said Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego). “We established ambitious and necessary goals to reduce carbon emission and increase renewable energy. We provided the tools industry needs to capture and store carbon before it hits the atmosphere. And we invested in critical infrastructure programs that will keep us firmly planted on the path to a greener future, while simultaneously creating jobs that will support families across the state. California has, and will continue to, lead the nation on not only addressing the worsening climate crisis, but finding proactive solutions.”
“It’s great to see California and the Governor celebrating our collective dedication to climate response. The Assembly has initiated this kind of legislation for years, and put forward some of these bills more than a year ago,” said Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood). “That makes it especially heartening to be able to enact a package like this as a team. I look forward to working on additional climate change legislation with the Governor and the Senate. We are just getting started.”
The climate package signed today includes:
- CARBON NEUTRALITY: AB 1279 by Assemlymembers Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) and Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) codifies the statewide carbon neutrality goal to dramatically reduce climate pollution.
- Establishes a clear, legally binding, and achievable goal for California to achieve statewide carbon neutrality as soon as possible, and no later than 2045, and establishes an 85% emissions reduction target as part of that goal.
- PROTECT COMMUNITIES AGAINST OIL DRILLING: SB 1137 by Senators Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) and Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) protects communities from the harmful impacts of the oil industry.
- Establishes a setback distance of 3,200 feet between any new oil well and homes, schools, parks or businesses open to the public.
- Ensures comprehensive pollution controls for existing oil wells within 3,200 feet of these facilities.
- 100% CLEAN ELECTRIC GRID: SB 1020 by Senator John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) establishes a pathway toward the state’s clean energy future.
- Creates clean electricity targets of 90% by 2035 and 95% by 2040 with the intent of advancing the state’s trajectory to the existing 100% clean electricity retail sales by 2045 goal.
- CAPTURING AND REMOVING CARBON POLLUTION: SB 905 by Senators Anna Caballero (D-Merced) and Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) and SB 1314 by Senator Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) advance engineered technologies to remove carbon pollution, while banning the use of those technologies for enhanced oil recovery.
- Establishes a clear regulatory framework for carbon removal and carbon capture, utilization and sequestration.
- Bans the practice of injecting carbon dioxide for the purpose of enhanced oil recovery.
- NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS: AB 1757 by Assemblymembers Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) and Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) enlists nature in the state’s climate agenda.
- Requires the state to develop an achievable carbon removal target for natural and working lands.
Read the entire press release here.