Governor Brown Stresses Environmental Goals

Governor Brown spent over one third of his inaugural address on protecting the environment by setting new goals to slow climate change. He clearly wants to strengthen California’s worldwide leadership role in meeting the IPCC green house gas goals.

Governor Brown stated:

We are well on our way to meeting our AB 32 goal of reducing carbon pollution and limiting the emissions of heat-trapping gases to 431 million tons by 2020. But now, it is time to establish our next set of objectives for 2030 and beyond.

Toward that end, I propose three ambitious goals to be accomplished within the next 15 years:

  1. Increase from one-third to 50 percent our electricity derived from renewable sources;
  2. Reduce today’s petroleum use in cars and trucks by up to 50 percent;
  3. Double the efficiency of existing buildings and make heating fuels cleaner.

We must also reduce the relentless release of methane, black carbon and other potent pollutants across industries. And we must manage farm and rangelands, forests and wetlands so they can store carbon. All of this is a very tall order. It means that we continue to transform our electrical grid, our transportation system and even our communities.

We support the Governor and his vision. Change in California will catalyze change around the world by showing what can be done by committed leadership. Our Symposium, Does Land Use Matter — Developing an Agenda for Governor Brown’s Final Four Years will kick start a multiyear effort to look at land use from a climate change and quality of life perspective. Join us on Feb 21, 2015 and be part of the solution.

Full text of the Governor’s speech