Governor Brown Calls For Reducing Emissions 40 Percent Below 1990 Levels By 2030
SACRAMENTO (CBS SF) – California Governor Jerry Brown has issued an executive order, targeting a greenhouse gas reduction in the state to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 – the most aggressive benchmark in North America.
"With this order, California sets a very high bar for itself and other states and nations, but it's one that must be reached – for this generation and generations to come," Brown said in a statement.
The action aligns the state's greenhouse gas reduction targets with those of leading international governments. It was just last year that the European Union set the same target for 2030.
The new statewide target is aimed at ensuring that California meets its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 and calls on all state agencies with jurisdiction over sources of greenhouse gas emissions to implement measures to achieve the 2030 and 2050 targets.
State agencies will continue to update California's climate adaptation strategy, Safeguarding California, to ensure that the state is on target to meet these goals.
In his inaugural address in January, Governor Brown addressed climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, announcing that within the next 15 years, California will increase from one-third to 50 percent the state's electricity from renewable sources, reduce petroleum use by 50 percent, double the efficiency savings from existing buildings and make heating fuels cleaner.
