This Friday, California enacted some of the most aggressive climate measures in the nation's history after 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 oil laws are expected to create 4 million jobs over the next two decades, reduce the state's oil use by 91 percent, reduce 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 and 90 percent clean energy by 2035, establish new retrofit measures to protect communities from oil extraction, capture carbon pollution from the air, and promote nature-based solutions.
California's Climate Commitment provides for a record $54 billion investment in climate action that exceeds what most countries are spending and promotes economic opportunity and environmental justice in communities across the state.
In addition to creating jobs, reducing air pollution and state oil consumption, California's Climate Commitment aims to save California $23 billion over the next 20 years by avoiding pollution damage, reducing fossil fuel use in buildings and transportation by 92 percent, and reducing refinery pollution by 94 percent.
Taken 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.
"This month has been a wake-up call to all of us that it is then too late to act on climate change. California is not waiting any longer," said Newsom.
"Together with the Legislature, California is taking the most aggressive climate action our nation has ever seen. We're cleaning up the air we breathe, holding big polluters accountable and ushering in a new era for clean energy. That's climate action done the California way, and we're not just doubling down, we're just getting started," he stressed.
During a press conference held in Vallejo, Governor Newsom signed the sweeping climate measures into law.
With multiple oil refineries in the background, the governor signed the legislation along with 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 at risk, especially our most vulnerable neighbors. We also continue to deal with historic drought and the ongoing threat of wildfires. The challenges of climate change are here, and this legislative session, we took bold steps to address these severe conditions and mitigate future risk through both our state budget and key legislation," said Senate President Pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins.
He added that ambitious and necessary goals were set to reduce carbon emissions and increase renewable energy. "We provided the tools industry needs to capture and store carbon before it reaches the atmosphere and invested in critical infrastructure programs that will keep us firmly planted on the path to a greener future."
In his remarks, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon noted, "It's great to see California and the governor celebrate our collective dedication to climate response. The Assembly has been initiating this type of legislation for years and introduced some of these bills over a year ago."
You may be interested in: Governor Newsom Announces Appointments to the State of Hate Commission
