California Gov. Jerry Brown said Wednesday he looks forward to signing a bill updating the state’s climate change law, following approvals by the state’s Assembly and Senate earlier this week. The bill updates the state’s emissions goal set in the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which called for California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The new bill calls for an additional 40 percent cut in emissions by 2030.
“The passage of this bill gives legislative force to our clean air goals for 2030. This is a real commitment, backed up by real power as a result of the votes taken,” Brown told reporters during a televised press briefing Wednesday.
The bill does not, however, update the state’s greenhouse gas emissions cap and trade system, which is the target of a lawsuit filed against the state by the state’s Chamber of Commerce and other groups. The cap and trade issue will hopefully be addressed in the future, and the lack of movement in that area should not detract from the rest of the bill, Brown said. “I think what is clear is that we had a terrific victory today,” he said. “What further amendments, changes, that’s something that we’ll consider tomorrow and the day after and the day after that.”
