{"id":23428,"date":"2022-09-02T12:45:04","date_gmt":"2022-09-02T19:45:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=23428"},"modified":"2022-09-02T12:45:06","modified_gmt":"2022-09-02T19:45:06","slug":"california-approves-a-wave-of-aggressive-new-climate-measures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2022\/09\/02\/california-approves-a-wave-of-aggressive-new-climate-measures\/","title":{"rendered":"California Approves a Wave of Aggressive New Climate Measures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After lobbying by the governor, lawmakers adopted $54 billion in climate spending and voted to keep open the state\u2019s last nuclear plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
The Route Fire burning alongside Interstate 5 in Castaic, Calif., on Wednesday.Credit…Marcio Jose Sanchez\/Associated Press<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Brad<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Brad Plumer<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sept. 1, 2022 (NYTimes.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California, with an economy that ranks as the world\u2019s fifth-largest, embarked this week on its most aggressive effort yet to confront climate change, after lawmakers passed a flurry of bills designed to cut emissions and speed away from fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legislators approved a record $54 billion in climate spending and passed sweeping new restrictions on oil and gas drilling as well as a mandate that California stop adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by 2045.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And they voted to extend the life of Diablo Canyon, California\u2019s last nuclear power plant<\/a>, by five years, a step once unthinkable to many environmentalists. Proponents said that California, which is again struggling to keep the lights on<\/a> amid a scorching heat wave this week, needed the emissions-free electricity from the nuclear plant while other clean sources like wind and solar ramp up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bills, passed late Wednesday night , marked a victory for Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who has sought to portray himself as a climate leader as he has raised his national profile and begun drawing speculation about a possible White House run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Newsom surprised lawmakers in mid-August when he urged them<\/a> to pass ambitious climate bills, many of which had failed in previous years. In the end, all of his proposals passed but one: a bill to strengthen the state\u2019s 2030 target for slashing planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, which fell short by four votes in the State Assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTogether with the Legislature\u2019s leadership, the progress we make on the climate crisis this year will be felt for generations and the impact will spread far beyond our borders,\u201d Mr. Newsom said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new actions by California add momentum to efforts nationwide to rein in pollution from the combustion of oil, gas and coal that is overheating the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August, President Biden signed an expansive climate law<\/a> that would invest $370 billion over the next decade in wind, solar and nuclear power. But that law alone won\u2019t be enough to eliminate U.S. greenhouse gases by 2050, a target that climate scientists say the world as a whole must reach to avoid climate catastrophe. To help close the gap, White House officials have said that states need to do more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ImageGov. Gavin Newsom during a visit to the U.S. Capitol in July. Credit…T.J. Kirkpatrick for The New York Times<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California already has some of the nation\u2019s most stringent policies to promote renewable energy and shift away from oil, gas and coal. Last month, state regulators finalized plan<\/a>s to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035, a policy that is widely expected to accelerate the global transition toward cleaner electric vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as record-breaking heat, drought and wildfires have battered the state, Mr. Newsom has faced increasing pressure to do more. While lawmakers voted in Sacramento, the National Weather Service warned that a \u201cvery dangerous\u201d heat wave<\/a> would grip the state this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under new legislation passed Wednesday, the state will have to cut greenhouse gases at least 85 percent by 2045 while offsetting any remaining emissions by planting more trees or using nascent technologies like direct air capture<\/a>, which collects carbon dioxide after it has already been discharged into the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n