California Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation on Monday setting a goal of 100 percent renewable energy for the state by 2045. He also issued an executive order stating 2045 would be California’s target date for achieving carbon neutrality.
As Pacific Standard reported last month, the carbon-free bill came on the heels of California’s fourth climate assessment:
According to the report, by the mid-21st century, the acreage of Northern California forest burned in wildfires every year could increase by 48 percent, and thousands more Californians may die of heat waves annually.
Brown noted in a statement that both the new law and the executive order put the Golden State “on a path to meet the goals of [the Paris Agreement] and beyond.” Brown suggested he would also be signing other bills this week to help California confront the threat of climate change. “But have no illusions,” Brown warned in his signing message for the carbon-free legislation, “California and the rest of the world have miles to go before we achieve zero-carbon emissions.”
These actions appear to be timed to align with the upcoming Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, from which Pacific Standard will be filing dispatches this week.
