California has taken the most aggressive steps yet to combat global warming. Lawmakers passed a flurry of new climate legislation late Wednesday, including a record $54 billion in climate spending, steps to prevent the closure of the state’s last nuclear plant, and draconian new limits. On oil and gas drilling and California’s mandate to stop emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by her 2045.
The bill passed around midnight at the end of a frenzied two-year legislative session in Sacramento, marking a victory for Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. There is speculation about a possible White House run.
Newsom overthrew Congress in mid-August. he urged the legislators Pass some major new climate legislation. Ultimately, all of his proposals passed, but a bill that bolstered the state’s 2030 goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming was defeated by his four votes in the state legislature. was down by a margin.
“With legislative leaders, our progress on this year’s climate crisis will be felt for generations, and its impact will extend far beyond our borders,” Newsom said in a statement. Stated.
New action in California, world’s fifth-largest economy, fuels nationwide efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions from burning oil, gas and coal that are heating up the planet .
In August, President Biden signed a massive climate law to invest $370 billion over the next decade in low-emission energy sources such as wind, solar and nuclear. But this law alone won’t be enough to make America greenhouse gas free by 2050. Climate scientists have set goals that the entire world must reach to avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change. To close the gap, White House officials say states must also take stronger action.
California has some of the strictest policies in the country to promote renewable energy and shift away from fossil fuels. Last month, state regulators finalized plans to ban the sale of new gasoline vehicles by 2035. The policy, which could be adopted by other states, is widely expected to accelerate the global transition to cleaner electric vehicles.
But as record heatwaves, droughts and wildfires ravage the state, Mr. Newsom faces pressure from environmentalists to do more. Congress voted in Sacramento. At the time, the National Weather Service warned that a “very dangerous” heat wave would hit the state over Labor Day weekend.
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The new bill aims to strengthen California’s plans to cut emissions, but experts say the state’s regulators will have to do the hard work of meeting those goals. says.
Legislators previously set a legally binding goal for California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 40% from 1990 levels by 2030. A new law passed Wednesday calls for a reduction in emissions of at least 85% by 2045, while offsetting remaining emissions. We are planting more trees and using as-yet-unproven technologies like direct air capture to capture the gases emitted into the atmosphere.
Still, setting ambitious goals is only the first step. For now the state not on track Danny Cullenward, policy director at CarbonPlan, a nonprofit that evaluates climate programs to meet their 2030 goals, said. He argued that California regulators still put too much faith in the cap-and-trade program, which caps emissions from large pollutants. being criticized too generous.
“If these new targets force state regulators to go back to the drawing board and come up with credible new plans to reduce emissions, that would be great,” Karen Ward said. . “But in my view they don’t have a realistic plan for implementation yet. That’s the most important part.”
Other bills passed by Congress would require more concrete measures.
Lawmakers approved a budget drafted by Newsom that would spend a record $54 billion on climate programs over five years. This includes $6.1 billion for electric vehicles, $14.8 billion for transportation and rail projects, and $8 billion for grid cleanups, including funding to buy new battery-powered school buses. That’s it, $2.7 billion to fight wildfires, and help the state deal with drought.
As part of that spending package, Congress approved a plan to keep the Diablo Canyon power plant operational. These two reactors provide him 9% of California’s electricity without emissions.
The reactors were originally scheduled to be shut down in 2024 and 2025, but new plans extend these deadlines to 2029 and 2030, with the power company that operates the plants, Pacific Gas and Electric, provide $1.4 billion in loans to PG&E also plans to apply for funding for his new $6 billion federal program designed to keep existing nuclear power plants running.
Newsom once firmly believed that Diablo Canyon should be closed. But as California faces increasingly severe heatwaves that are driving up power demand and straining the grid, the state is struggling to keep the lights on. So this summer, Mr. Newsom reversed his course and urged lawmakers to keep factories running.
Some environmentalists criticized the move, arguing that the money would be better spent on other clean energy sources such as solar, wind and batteries. Proponents warned that California needed electricity so badly that it would be replaced by polluting sources like natural gas once the power plants shut down.
In a letter to Congress on Tuesday, California Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein urged lawmakers to take action. “The alternative to the closure of Diablo Canyon’s reactors is most likely additional natural gas production, which would reverse progress in emissions reductions and worsen air quality,” she wrote.
One of the most controversial measures passed by Congress is to set new oil and gas wells at least 3,200 feet away from homes, schools and hospitals, and to subject existing wells within that distance to strict pollution controls. It is a requirement to impose.
California, the nation’s seventh-largest oil producer, has never created buffer zones around oil fields like Colorado and Pennsylvania.Proponents of the new buffer zone estimate that 2.7 million Californians live within 3,200 feet of an oil and gas well, the state health board said. Conclusion Last year, it was found that living near active wells increased the risk of asthma, heart attack, and premature birth.
For years, environmentalists have been calling for the new requirements to be repealed, but after heavy lobbying from oil and gas groups who claimed the requirements would stifle energy production and drive up fuel costs, the state Senate The bill to do so was defeated twice.
But this time, Mr. Newsom pushed hard for the retroactive bill, and it passed.
The bill also mandates regulators to develop new guidelines for the use of carbon capture and storage. This involves capturing carbon dioxide from polluted industrial facilities and burying it underground. Newsom says the technology, which has struggled to spread due to its high cost, is necessary for states to meet their climate goals, but some climate activists fear the industry will burn fossil fuels. Notably, the law prohibits the use of recovered carbon dioxide to extract more crude oil.
Earlier this week, Congress approved several new bills to encourage urban housing density and lift the requirement to include parking spaces in new homes built near bus and train stops. While these measures were primarily aimed at alleviating the state’s housing crisis, experts say they will very likely also help cut emissions by making Californians less dependent on driving. said.
“Housing policy is often lost in the climate debate, but it’s actually one of the best ways to cut emissions,” said Ethan Elkind, a law professor and climate expert at the University of California, Berkeley. It’s one,” he said. “If we could get more people to live near public transport or where they don’t need a car, who cares if they have an electric car?”
Some policy experts believe the governor helped break the deadlock on California’s climate policy. Much of Congress’ climate legislation appeared to be stalled until Newsom stepped in early August to present his five-point plan and urge lawmakers to send the bill to their desks. Looked.
“For the last few years, the Senate has been a dying place for climate policy,” said David Weiskopf, senior policy adviser at climate advocacy group NextGen Policy. “But then Newsom came up and said let’s get the climate right. He’d never done that before.”
Business groups were criticizing last-minute policy-making moves.
“It would be wrong to rush through Congress at the end of the session to impose policies affecting all aspects of California’s trillion-dollar economy without time for a thorough debate on reliability, affordability, and fairness. approach,” said a statement from a coalition of business groups, including the California Business Roundtable and the California Chamber of Commerce.
Some wondered whether Governor Newsom’s political ambitions were at work. The governor was voted on in November and is heavily backed to win re-election after defeating a recall attempt last year. , has sparked speculation on the president after buying ads criticizing Republican governors over gun and abortion-related laws in Florida and Texas.
“He’s done a lot to get the national press talking about him,” said Thad Coosar, a professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego. I am concentrating on
Newsom has previously said he has “below zero interest” in running for president in 2024. But political analysts said climate could be a big issue if he runs for office in the future.
“Think about 2028 and we’re going to see a dramatic demographic change,” said Democratic strategist Serinda Lake. “It’s very good positioning.”
Ivan Penn contributed to the report.