California Governor Signs Sweeping Legislation to fight Climate Change.
Last week, California governor Gavin Newsom signed on a package of legislation that will address a wide array of climate measures designed to ensure the state will reach it commitment of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 among other ambitious goals. Legislation includes bills to reduce carbon emissions, protect Californians from big polluters and accelerate the transition to clean energy.
There were three main bills among others that were signed into law by Gavin Newsom on Friday, September 16th. Those top three include The California Climate Crisis Act, the framework for carbon capture with community protections, and the health and safety setback around oil wells.
The California Climate Crisis Act codifies California’s commitment to achieve net-zero by no later than 2045. This goal requires California to cut emissions by 85% and with this new legislation it means that communities and businesses can begin their long-term planning to begin cutting emissions right away.
The Framework for carbon capture with community protections establishes a framework to enable the deployment of carbon capture technology to reduce emissions from stationary sources, with the inclusion of essential community protections and environmental integrity provisions. These solutions should not negatively impact local air quality or public health, taking care to ensure that this does not negatively impact communities that were overburdened by pollution. This legislation also bans the practice of injecting carbon dioxide for the purpose of enhanced oil recovery.
Last but certainly not least is the health and safety setbacks around oil wells. Back in 2021, Governor Newson directed that the California Geologic Energy Management Division establish regulations to protect public health from oil wells. This was officially signed into law and establishes a setback distance of 3,200 feet between any new oil well and homes, schools, parks or businesses open to the public. This also ensures comprehensive pollution controls for existing oil wells within 3,200 feet of these facilities.
The full set of bills the Governor signed that work toward achieving the state’s climate goals can be viewed here.
Sources:
https://www.gov.ca.gov/2022/09/16/governor-newsom-signs-sweeping-climate-measures-ushering-in-new-era-of-world-leading-climate-action/#:~:text=Last%20week%2C%20Governor%20Newsom%20signed,gas%2Dpowered%20cars%20by%202035.
https://www.edf.org/media/gov-newsom-signs-strong-climate-package-secures-californias-leadership-decades
https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2022-09-16/california-governor-signs-sweeping-climate-legislation
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/climate/california-lawmakers-climate-legislation.html
