New California bill and executive order sets even more ambitious goals than the Sustainable LA Grand Challenge
September 10, 2018
In 2013, the Sustainable LA Grand Challenge (SLA GC) set the ambitious goal of transitioning Los Angeles County to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. On September 10, 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate State Bill (SB) 100, California’s 100 percent clean energy bill, into law and announced an executive order directing California to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, thus setting an even more ambitious goal than the SLA GC had announced at its launch.
SB 100 requires that the state generate 100 percent of its electricity from clean sources by 2045. Sponsored by state senator and LA Sustainability Leadership Council member Kevin de León, SB 100 also strengthens California’s 2030 emissions targets – the state must produce 60 percent of its electricity by 2030, a 10 percent increase from previous targets. Complimenting SB 100, the executive order requires California to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, broadening the applicability beyond the electricity sector, and instead encompassing the entirety of the state’s carbon emissions. According to the executive order, by 2045, California will remove as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as it emits.
The path to these two ambitious targets is not yet defined, but by setting the goal, California signals its commitment as a global leader on climate policy. Once seen as aspirational, 100 percent clean energy is now California state policy.
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The passing of SB 100 and signing of the executive order came just a few days prior to the Global Action Summit hosted in San Francisco, CA. Climate leaders from around the world will gather with the shared mission to address the challenges of climate change.
Learn more about the event at the Global Action Climate Summit the Sustainable LA Grand Challenge will co-host with UCLA partners titled, “Thriving in a hotter Los Angeles: Can LA model sustainability for the world’s megacities? And what can it learn from others?”