Five of six climate bills signed into law

Five of the six climate and energy bills pushed by Gov. Gavin Newsom made it to his desk. AB 2133 — which would have ramped up goals for reducing greenhouse gases — failed at the last minute. 

The bills aim to set interim targets for 100% clean energy, regulate projects to remove carbon from the atmosphere and smokestacks. 

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Bill AB 1279 codifies the state's existing goal of carbon neutrality by 2045. But a more aggressive pace of cutting greenhouse gases failed in the Assembly.

The oil and gas industry also lobbied heavily against Newsom's climate initiatives. 

"It is a regressive mandate that will hit those at the lower end of the income spectrum the hardest." 

Legislation signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom would require all state agencies to source 100% renewable energy by 2035 and 95% by 2040. Opponents questioned if those goals were achievable and how they could be achieved. 

One senator mocked the approach of the bills, saying they were like "sprinkling some pixie dust."

California is expected to see a 68% increase in energy consumption by 2045. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that aims to keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant open until 2030. The state needs more sources of clean power while it makes progress on transitioning to renewable energy. 

Power lines and more battery storage capacity also need to be improved to maintain reliability. Bill AB 1757 will require California to set targets for removing planet-warming carbon from the atmosphere with nature-based methods.

The bill received widespread support from environmentalists, but farmers say it would be economically unfeasible for them. 

"Few people in California have even seen a permit for a project, let alone reviewed and commented on one," an attorney says. Bill prohibits retrofitting of existing oil operations within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, nursing homes and hospitals. 

It also requires operators to take certain steps at the thousands of existing wells within that buffer zone. The bill stalled in the Senate on the final day of the session; voting was put on hold while authors scraped around for votes.