The governor wants the California Energy Commission to create at least 20 gigawatts of annual energy from offshore wind by 2045 in order to achieve carbon neutrality.
East Coast counterparts such as Massachusetts and New York have already taken the lead in planned offshore wind development.
The California Air Resources Board was asked to come up with plans for a variety of measures to reduce the severity of climate change.
California is in the middle of a climate crisis. Extreme heat has become a daily reality. We are forced to do more.
This year has seen extreme heat waves in the state. Death Valley and Palm Springs both reached 122 degrees on Saturday. Many water districts in California have instituted new restrictions on water usage because of the Colorado River's low water levels. Thousands of people were forced to leave their homes and at least 15 properties were damaged or destroyed as a result of the fire near the national park.
The law requires the state to cut its carbon emissions by 40% from 1990 levels by 2030. California has the second-most home solar energy array per capita after Hawaii. California has one of the highest gas prices in the nation.
CARB, which creates the comprehensive plans to reach the state emissions targets, should include a number of different approaches to ensure that California actually gets to where it wants to be. The governor set a goal of 7 million climate-friendly homes by the end of the 20th century. Extreme weather events that are becoming more prevalent due to climate change are referred to as climate- ready. A climate-friendly home is one that has low carbon footprints thanks to energy efficient construction and rooftop solar panels. 6 million heat pumps need to be installed in California by the year 2030. Electric heat pumps are more efficient than conventional air conditioning.
Carbon removal is the most cutting-edge technology that Newsom wants to use. The world's first commercial carbon removal plant opened last year. When emissions from certain sectors such as aviation and agriculture can't be completely eliminated, scientists say it's necessary for the factory to suck carbon out of the air and store it underground.
The state should be able to remove 20 million metric tons of carbon dioxide every year from the atmosphere by the year 2030. Natural methods such as tree planting are expected to require engineering solutions.
4,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide is removed from the air by the plant. It costs more than 10 times as much as buying carbon offsets. Some scientists argue that until costs come down further, the money it takes to remove carbon would be better spent on reducing emission on the front end.
A major investment in carbon removal by California could change the industry and allow economies of scale. If California were a country, it would be the fifth largest economy.
CARB was asked to reduce emissions from fossil fuels by planning no new natural gas-fired power plants and forming a task force to identify and fix methane leaks from oil infrastructure near communities.
The California environmentalists praised the agenda of the governor.
At a time when climate action from the nation's capital seems out of reach, the news from California is a tonic. The fifth largest economy in the world is on a fast track to tap into offshore wind at a scale that actually meets our needs. He is making a large down payment on other climate action.
At a crucial time in the fight against climate change, the governor has moved. The proposal by President Biden to spend up to $500 billion over 10 years to adapt to and mitigate climate change died in the Senate. The United States won't meet its pledge to reduce emissions by half.
The Supreme Court ruled last month that the EPA can't force electric utilities to switch to clean energy sources.
Experts want states to do more to address climate change. The court issued its ruling in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency on June 30, and the governor of California said that they needed to double down.
Hal Harvey, CEO of Energy Innovation, told Yahoo News that most energy policy decision making in the US is done at the state level.
The West Coast states were suggested to increase their offshore wind capacity.
Harvey said that the West Coast should build a lot of offshore wind as a result of the East Coast's success.
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