California Governor Jerry Brown: Climate Hawk
In Sacramento this Monday, California's new and returning statewide elected officials, all Democrats, were sworn in to their new four-year terms. In post-election years, the inaugural events also serve as the governor's opportunity to deliver the State of the State Address, and returning Gov. Jerry Brown used the speech to commit to bold new environmental commitments regarding petroleum use and the state's renewable energy portfolio.
California's landmark Global Warming Solutions Act, commonly known as AB32, already requires the state to reduce its emissions levels to 1990-era levels by 2020, and Brown said that the state is well on its way to doing that. But on top of these already ambitious goals, Brown committed that by 2030, California would obtain at least half of its electricity from renewable sources; reduce petroleum use in cars and trucks by up to 50 percent; and double the energy efficiency of existing buildings. According to Brown, accomplishing these objectives will require a little bit of everything:
"I envision a wide range of initiatives: more distributed power, expanded rooftop solar, micro-grids, an energy imbalance market, battery storage, the full integration of information technology and electrical distribution and millions of electric and low-carbon vehicles. How we achieve these goals and at what pace will take great thought and imagination mixed with pragmatic caution. It will require enormous innovation, research and investment. And we will need active collaboration at every stage with our scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, businesses and officials at all levels," said Brown.
On the petroleum front, however, a recent regulation will give Brown some assistance. AB32 established a cap-and-trade program for the state's biggest stationary emitters, requiring them to buy offsets from the state for the carbon they emitted. But this past January 1, wholesalers of transportation fuels also became subject to the cap, meaning that they too will have a market incentive to reduce the amount of carbon in their fuels to avoid having to buy as many credits on the open market.
Environmental activists are generally pleased with Brown's commitment, but some still pushing for further regulations on oil extracting methods in the state. R.L. Miller, chair of the California Democratic Party's Environmental Caucus, mostly applauds Brown's move. "Brown's proposal ensures that California regains its perch atop the list of states with the most aggressive climate proposals. It'll mean significant development of solar storage capacity and exponential scaling up rooftop solar. However, it calls into question how California can keep fracking the dirtiest oil on the planet."
Either way, Brown—California's oldest and longest-serving governor—seems eager to have a more sustainable future be among his key legacies. Despite political opposition from Republicans, cost overruns, and bureaucratic hassles, this month will see the groundbreaking of the country's only high-speed rail system, as well as the full implementation of the state's landmark cap-and-trade program—and Brown is well aware of the stakes behind the new goals he is seeking to accomplish:
"Taking significant amounts of carbon out of our economy without harming its vibrancy is exactly the sort of challenge at which California excels. This is exciting, it is bold and it is absolutely necessary if we are to have any chance of stopping potentially catastrophic changes to our climate system."