On Friday, California enacted some of the most aggressive climate measures in the nation's history, as Governor Gavin Newsom signed a sweeping package of legislation to reduce pollution, protect Californians from big polluters and accelerate the state's transition to clean energy.
The new laws would create 4 million jobs over the next two years, reduce the state's oil use by 91 percent, cut air pollution by 60 percent, protect communities from oil extraction and accelerate the state's transition to clean energy, Newsom said.
The actions seek to promote innovative measures to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 at the latest and 90 percent clean energy by 2035, establish new setback measures to protect communities from oil extraction, capture carbon pollution from the air and promote nature-based solutions.
California’s Climate Commitment calls for an investment of $54 billion in climate action that exceeds what most countries are spending and advances economic opportunity and environmental justice in communities across the state.
In addition to creating jobs and reducing air pollution and reducing the state's oil consumption, California's Climate Pledge seeks to save California $23 billion over the next 20 years by avoiding days of pollution, reducing the use of renewable fuels in buildings and transportation by 92 percent, and reducing pollution from refineries by 94 percent.
Together, these measures represent the most significant action on the climate crisis in California's history and raise the bar for governments around the world.