This week, California legislators unveiled a suite of new bills to shrink the state’s environmental footprint.
Among them is a pledge to cut gasoline use by 50% by the year 2030.
It’s ambitious, but it’s the target to go after. California is the second-largest emitter in the country, and transportation is by far its largest source of emissions, at nearly 60 percent.
I’m visiting the wonderful folks from Sustainable Tucson in Arizona next week to talk about the opportunities that solar and clean energy offer their local economy. In preparation, I’m looking at their current monopoly electricity provider, Tucson Electric Power. Remarkably, the utility acquires just 4% of its electricity from renewable resources (and over 70% from coal), despite being at the heart of the best sunshine in the country. The red arrow shows Tucson on this map of the nation’s solar resource.
"The transition from carbon based to renewable energy is one of the most important challenges of our generation. We applaud the efforts of Senator De Leon and his colleagues to keep California in the forefront of this effort. Skilled construction workers have been building energy infrastructure from the water wheels of antiquity to modern coal and gas fired energy plants. We look forward to providing the skilled workforce that will build our renewable energy future providing jobs for our members and energy to fuel our 21st Century economy."
“We applaud Senate President pro Tem Kevin de León and his Senate colleagues for their leadership on climate change. California leads the nation in energy efficiency, cleaner cars and energy storage. Our climate and clean energy laws already on the books are creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and cleaning our air. But given the ongoing climate threats to our environment and the health and safety of our communities, we can't stop there; we must continue to craft bold policy solutions to the challenges presented by climate change.
“In a historic move by Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León and key members of his caucus, California again proved that its leaders have the vision to lead the nation forward on environmental policy and reducing greenhouse gases. The package of proposed bills will not only cut petroleum use by half by 2030, but it will also greatly increase the production of electricity from renewable resources like wind and solar.
California, which has long been known as a leader in finding ways to cut its contribution to climate change, just one-upped itself.
California state Democrats announced an ambitious set of newly proposed environmental standards on Tuesday aimed at creating sustainable economic growth through technological innovation.
“My colleagues and I have seen clean energy jobs growing across California and we want to make sure they reach all of California,” state Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de León said during a press conference in Sacramento announcing the California Climate Leadership initiative.
“Tackling climate change is one of California’s greatest economic opportunities of the 21st century, and Thanks to Senator De Leon, we may be well on our way soon!
“California is truly at an historic crossroad. Ratepayers shouldn’t be purchasing rainforests in Brazil or buying empty pieces of paper. Ratepayer funds should be used to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in California and to clean California’s air. The IBEW will continue to stand should to shoulder with Senator De León on this issue.”
“California continues to be #1 in the nation in both solar jobs and installed solar capacity for good reason – smart, effective public policies and tenacious leadership. We applaud Governor Brown, Senator De Leon and other legislative leaders for their commitment to a healthier environment and a clean energy future. Today, California has an estimated 9,800 MW of installed solar capacity, which last year helped to offset 11.3 million metric tons of harmful carbon emissions.