California Assembly approves aggressive Clean Energy Bill

The California Assembly approved Senate Bill 350 on Friday, creating clean energy targets for the state that are the world’s highest, requiring half of the state’s energy to be renewable within 15 years.

“California has yet again raised the bar on clean energy,” Alex Jackson, Natural Resources Defense Council’s legal director of the California Climate Project, said. “California has made tremendous strides in cutting carbon emissions, but global warming isn’t slowing down and neither should we. We look forward to working with lawmakers next session to affirm California’s long-term climate commitments.”

The bill, which is expected to receive concurrence from California’s Senate and be passed into law, will lower carbon pollution from the power industry by 40 percent of the forecast levels. A companion bill, (SB 32), would require the state to drop its overall carbon emissions by 40 percent of the 1990 levels by 2030.

“In the run-up to the Paris climate talks, California’s leadership is showing the world that the fight against climate change can – and must – be won,” California Advocacy Director Ann Notthoff said.