CALIFORNIA GOV. JERRY BROWN SIGNS A BILL ON SEPTEMBER 10, 2018 THAT COMMITS THE STATE 100 PERCENT CARBON-FREE ENERGY BY 2045. CREDIT: STATE OF CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR'S OFFICE
California Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation on Monday to shift the state to 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2045. Brown timed the signing of the bill to kick off this week’s global climate summit that will bring officials and activists from around the world to San Francisco.
Senate Bill 100, authored by state Sen. Kevin de León (D), sets a 100 percent clean electricity goal for the state by 2045. Also on Monday, Brown issued an executive order establishing a new target to achieve carbon neutrality by the same year.
“California is committed to doing whatever is necessary to meet the existential threat of climate change,” Brown said in his S.B. 100 signing message.
The bill and executive order puts California on a path to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement, Brown said. “But have no illusions,” he added, “California and the rest of the world have miles to go before we achieve zero-carbon emissions.”
On June 1, 2017, President Donald Trump announced he planned to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement.
Last year, California joined Washington state and New York to form the U.S. Climate Alliance, which now includes 17 U.S. states committed to achieving the goals of the Paris climate agreement and meeting or exceeding the targets of the Clean Power Plan crafted by the Obama administration’s Environmental Protection Agency.
“Today, with Governor Brown’s support, California sent a message to the rest of the world that we are taking the future into our own hands; refusing to be the victims of its uncertainty,” de Leon said Monday in a statement. “Transitioning to an entirely carbon-free energy grid will create good-paying jobs, ensure our children breathe cleaner air and mitigate the devastating impacts of climate change on our communities and economy.”
he California Assembly passed the S.B. 100 law in late August committing the state to a target of 100 percent clean electricity by 2045, becoming the second state to do so. In 2015, Hawaii became the first state to set such a target.
“It’s impossible to overstate how significant it is for a state as large and influential as California to commit to 100 percent clean energy,” Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said Monday in a statement. “California is showing the world that a transition to 100 percent clean energy is within reach and it will continue to drive the transition away from fossil fuels — and it is doing this while the federal government abandons clean energy.”
Starting Wednesday, government and industry officials and climate activists will gather in San Francisco for the Global Climate Action Summit. This past Saturday, thousands of climate activists marched in the city’s streets as part of a worldwide demonstration known as the Rise for Climate, Jobs and Justice.
Source: Think Progress. Reproduced with permission.
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