Climate change is rapidly accelerating in California, state report says
California will be better positioned to confront its climate challenges when state lawmakers, local governments and business leaders work together, the state’s latest climate action plan says.
The state’s 2019 climate action plan, released Friday by Gov. Jerry Brown, lists many ways that California can play a stronger role in global climate efforts.
The state is already working to address climate risks through several programs such as building more solar and wind capacity, retrofitting houses and boosting the use of electric and hybrid vehicles, the report says. Brown also has established new climate-related programs, including expanding the California Air Resources Board’s authority to regulate emissions from oil and gas development.
In addition, Brown’s administration has issued several executive orders designed to support more climate action across the state.
Those efforts have seen a growing focus on energy efficiency, carbon reduction, and renewable energy, the report says.
“We already have some of the strongest laws in the world, but we still aren’t doing enough,” said Brown. “It’s time for us to work together.”
California is on track to meet or exceed its state-mandated greenhouse gas targets under the nation’s most ambitious climate law, known as “cap-and-trade” legislation. The state has said it expects to reach that goal by July 2020.
In 2016, California’s cap-and-trade system went into effect. With that program, the state’s cap on how many emissions permits it would sell, and the quantity of those emissions permits it would sell, is constantly being adjusted. Each year’s cap is based on a calculation of how much carbon dioxide the state would want to send to the atmosphere under the federal Clean Air Act.
As part of the cap-and-trade program, California sets a target for how many “emissions credits” it would be allowed
