Governor Sets Ambitious Greenhouse-Gas Reduction Target

Brown's order aligns California's greenhouse-gas reduction targets with those of leading international governments ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference later this year

California would aggressively reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 under a plan announced Wednesday that steps up the state's previously established target, which has cut emissions partly by forcing companies to pay for their carbon pollution.

The governor issued an executive order Wednesday to set a target of reducing emissions in the nation's most populous state by 40 percent below 1990 levels over the next 15 years. The rules aim to curb global warming. It goes further than a federal plan to cut carbon-dioxide emissions and represents what Brown called a "very high bar."

"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.

President Barack Obama announced a plan earlier this year to cut carbon dioxide emissions 26 percent to 28 percent by 2025, with 2005 levels as the starting point.

Brown's order aligns California's greenhouse-gas reduction targets with those of leading international governments ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris later this year. The 28-nation European Union has set the same target for 2030.

California's previous goals, set during the administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, involved reaching 1990 levels by 2020. California already has moved on its environmental goals, partly through a program that puts a monetary value on carbon emissions.

The state's cap-and-trade program, launched nearly three years ago, offers one of the few real-world laboratories on how to reduce carbon emissions. It expanded this year to fine companies that produce gasoline and other fuels, prompting predictions that consumers will see a spike in prices to cover the costs.

Brown didn't lay out specifics on how to reach the new goal but says climate change would factor into government planning. A statement from the governor's office said the state will incorporate the impacts of climate change into its five-year infrastructure plan and the investment plans of state agencies.

Brown has announced equally aggressive efforts aimed at fighting the state's historic drought, which has been California's primary environmental concern in recent months.

He has said more than 90 percent of climate scientists "are absolutely convinced" that human and industrial activity are leading to heat-trapping greenhouse gasses. According to NASA, 97 percent of climate scientists agree that warming trends in the last 100 years are "very likely due to human activities."

The governor's order was praised by climate researchers and politicians, including former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"California's 2030 goal to reduce carbon emissions is not only bold, it's necessary -- for the economy and our future," Bloomberg said.

Despite being a political hero to the environmental movement in his first stint as governor in the 1970s, Brown has gotten harsh criticism from conservationists for his refusal to ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for oil. David Braun, a member of a group called Californians Against Fracking, said the governor's goal was commendable but insufficient.

"To really address climate change in a meaningful way, Gov. Brown must ban fracking and other oil drilling methods that endanger our communities' health, our water and the environment," the group said in a statement Wednesday.

The announcement comes ahead of Brown's scheduled visit Wednesday to Southern California, where he will speak on the topic. Brown will speak at the "Navigating the American Carbon World" event Wednesday morning before attending a discussion at the 18th annual Milken Institute Global Conference.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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