AP

California governor signs sweeping climate legislation

Sep 16, 2022, 1:48 AM | Updated: 1:53 pm

Gov. Gavin Newsom, center, poses with lawmakers after signing a package of legislation that acceler...

Gov. Gavin Newsom, center, poses with lawmakers after signing a package of legislation that accelerates the climate goals of the nation's most populous state at Mare Island in Vallejo, Calif., Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)


              Gov. Gavin Newsom, right, poses for a photo with state Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach and her son, Luca Carrillo, 7, after he signed her climate change bill at a signing ceremony at Mare Island in Vallejo, Calif., Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. Gonzalez's bill was among package of legislation that Newsom signed that accelerates the climate goals of the nation's most populous state.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
            
              Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, hands the climate change bill to the author, Assemblyman Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, right, during a signing ceremony at Mare Island, in Vallejo, Calif., Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. Riva's bill was among the package of legislation that Newsom signed that accelerates the climate goals of the nation's most populous state.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
            
              With a solar panels above him and a charging station display in the background Gov. Gavin Newsom discusses the climate legislation he is about at Mare Island in Vallejo, Calif., Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. Newsom signed a package of legislation that accelerates the climate goals of the nation's most populous state.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
            
              Gov. Gavin Newsom, center, flanked by state lawmakers discusses the package of legislation he signed that accelerates the climate goals of the nation's most populous state, at Mare Island in Vallejo, Calif., Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
            
              Gov. Gavin Newsom, center, poses with lawmakers after signing a package of legislation that accelerates the climate goals of the nation's most populous state at Mare Island in Vallejo, Calif., Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a sweeping package of bills Friday to expand California’s reliance on clean energy and reduce carbon emissions, moves he said further establish the state as a global climate leader.

The new laws include proposals aimed at reducing exposure to gas and oil pollution in communities of color, expanding clean energy jobs and accelerating the state’s timeline for getting most of its electricity from renewable energy sources. Newsom signed them following a record-breaking heat wave that forced California to rely more heavily on natural gas for its electricity production.

“We could talk about the way the world should be and protest it,” Newsom said while standing underneath an array of solar panels. “Or we can actually make demonstrable progress.”

State Sen. Lena Gonzalez, a Democrat, was an author of one bill aimed at protecting vulnerable communities from pollution coming from oil and gas production sites. It bans the drilling of any new oil and gas wells with 3,200 feet (975 meters) of homes, schools and other neighborhood sites and requires wells in those zones to enact stricter safety measures. Neighborhood oil drilling is prominent around Los Angeles and oil-rich parts of the Central Valley.

“The reason why we do this, first and foremost, is because some of us are parents,” said Gonzalez, who represents the southern part of Los Angeles County.

Another bill Newsom signed requires California to reach carbon neutrality by 2045, meaning it will remove as much carbon from the atmosphere as what it emits.

The state’s accelerated carbon reduction targets are a “big win for California,” Kassie Siegel, of the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, said in a statement.

The oil industry has broadly criticized Newsom’s climate package, saying it will harm an industry that still provides many jobs throughout the state. California is the seventh-largest oil producing state.

Some environmental groups were critical as well, though for different reasons. Food and Water Watch California, a nonprofit aimed at addressing climate and water issues, opposed a bill in the package that creates a permitting system for carbon capture projects. Such efforts rely on technology to remove carbon from the atmosphere to store underground.

Critics of the technology say it’s dangerous, unproven and a means for oil companies to keep emitting.

“Carbon capture is a smokescreen for fossil fuel industry players to protect their bottom lines at the expense of our climate and communities,” Food and Water Watch California Director Chirag G. Bhakta said in a statement.

Newsom, a Democrat, also took the opportunity to swipe at Republican political leaders in Texas. He compared California’s energy production to that of Texas, another major producer, where a winter storm in February 2021 left millions without power.

“And they’re talking to us about keeping our lights on?” Newsom said of Texas.

___

Sophie Austin is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/sophieadanna.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

2 days ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

2 days ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

2 days ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

5 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

7 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

7 days ago

California governor signs sweeping climate legislation