California Governor Jerry Brown Signs New Renewable Energy Mandate

California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law a bill pledging that the state will get all of its electricity from renewable sources, achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. In interim measures to help achieve this goal, California has also stated that by 2025, 50% of all power will be derived from renewable sources, and 60% by 2030.

California has already implemented the most stringent greenhouse gas emission reduction limits in the U.S. Between 2015 and 2016, these limits saved roughly 1.5 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel. These limits also allowed California to achieve its GHG emission reduction goals for 2020 four years early, reducing emissions by 13 percent.

“This is the next step in California’s continuing effort to combat global warming,” Brown said. “It’s a very important commitment to clean energy that sends a signal to industry to step up to the plate and provide the new technologies that are required.”

In addition to the carbon neutrality bill, Governor Brown also signed two additional bills to block new oil drilling off the coast of California by preventing the construction of any infrastructure or materials related to the drilling, such as pipelines.