I've repeatedly gotten the question: Do I feel optimistic or pessimistic about the fight against climate change after attending COP26? My response is that I feel encouraged. COP26 brought more progress than expected, yet less than we hoped. My participation in this year’s conference brought content, connections, and hope around the fight against climate change, and provided an unreplicable opportunity to exchange ideas about climate solutions with other leaders on this issue.
Getting to Zero
My Senate Bill 67, the 24/7 Clean Energy Standard bill, will require utilities and other electricity suppliers to match their increasing amounts of clean energy to the timing of their energy load — on an hourly basis. As the bill made its way through the legislature this year, my team and I fielded concerns and I decided to make SB 67 a two-year bill while we work to find the right policy framework to put the state on a path to 100% clean energy on a 24/7 basis.
Since Getting to Zero depends heavily on switching much of our energy use to zero emission electricity, it is important to ask: Can we get statewide electricity to zero emissions? In this blog post, I'll share research that demonstrates electricity decarbonization is not only feasible both statewide and locally, but that it also can be done with relatively low incremental costs.
This year, there have been a couple of big shifts in the fight for a clean energy future within the world of finance. What is going on? Why did the investment community suddenly wake up and start to care about the climate crisis?
I am excited to share that a new Subcommittee on the Clean Energy Future was created this week, and I am honored to be selected as its Chair. I’m grateful to Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins for this appointment and for recognizing the need to speed our transition to a clean energy future.
At the last Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies on August 17th, my colleagues and I got the opportunity to hear about the annual update on statewide greenhouse gas emission trends, including how they impact the 2022 Air Resources Board Scoping Plan’s goals. Throughout the testimonies from various panelists, we were challenged with facts and opinions about where California is both succeeding and still falling short in Getting to Zero.
To Get to Zero greenhouse gas emissions, we first need to identify where emissions are coming from. Today, I break down the largest sectors by their share of greenhouse gas emissions and highlight key guiding questions for this high-level overview of California's greenhouse gas emissions by sectors. {Click the headline to view the full post.]
While climate legislation targets reductions in greenhouse gas emissions statewide, these policies benefit our district directly. In other words, our efforts in Getting to Zero — which means getting California to net zero greenhouse gas emissions — not only protect the planet, but also protect the health, well-being, safety and homes of our families and neighbors right here on the Peninsula. {Click the headline to view the full post.]