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Governor Sets Ambitious Climate Change Goals in State of the State

Andrew Nixon
/
Capital Public Radio

California lawmakers and environmental groups are calling the climate goals Governor Jerry Brown laid out in his State of the State speech ambitious. But as Amy Quinton reports from Sacramento, reaction is mixed on whether the goals are achievable.

The Governor wants to cut petroleum use in cars and trucks in half by 2030. He wants to double the efficiency of existing buildings. And he wants to increase from one-third to one-half electricity that’s generated from renewable resources.

Brown: “We didn’t know he was going to come out with something so bold and ambitious.”

Tim O’Connor with the Environmental Defense Fund says the goals are achievable.

O’Connor: “I think you’re going to see a lot of the members of the world environmental community really standing up and rejoicing.”

But Republican Assemblyman James Gallagher says the Governor's goals are too risky.

Gallagher: “We’ve already met a lot of these benchmarks that we set out with AB 32 but now we’re going to double down on those things? I think that’s a dangerous thing to do in what’s already a precarious economy.”

Governor Brown concedes his plan is a very tall order that means transforming the electrical grid, the transportation system and communities. 

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