CA Pushes New Climate Plan

A new climate plan from the California Air Resources Board outlines goals for the state going into the next few decades.

The plan, which was released this past Thursday, aims to reduce carbon emissions within the state in the coming decades.  According to a report in Bloomberg, the plan outlines some ambitious goals. 

“California aims to accelerate its climate strategy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85% from 1990 levels by 2045 while shifting its economy away from fossil fuels under a plan a state regulator adopted Thursday.”

The plan also involves decreasing oil/gas consumption and moving away from fossil fuels.

“The plan aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 48% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, a bolder goal than the previous 40% target. The state would build no new gas-fired power plants, increase funding for mass transit, and reduce oil and gas consumption to less than one-tenth of current demand.”

The plan also involves the creation of millions of climate friendly homes and heat pumps, along with expanding offshore wind energy. 

Despite the bold nature of this plan, not everyone is sold. In a report from the Sacramento Bee, climate activists have criticized the lack of details and the “scoring system” that will be implemented.

The SacBee quoted the criticisms of climate economist Danny Cullenward, who found errors with their methodology. He painted a more skeptical portrait of the plan.

“What’s going on is this plan is so incredibly high level that it doesn’t actually connect to any of the decisions that the board has to take in any of its policy programs.”

There’s another issue with no longer producing fossil fuels in California. A report in CalMatters quoted Rock Zierman, who is the CEO of the trade group the California Independent Petroleum Association, who pointed out that the oil will have to come from somewhere.

“Under Newsom’s plan, California would become solely dependent on foreign oil[.]”

The effects of climate change in California can be acutely felt, as we’ve previously mentioned on this blog.  We’re happy that California is paying attention to these environmental issues, but it becomes a moot point without focusing on overpopulation.

Earth’s population just hit eight billion people this past November. As we always point out, none of these plans budget for the increase in human population that will occur in the country and California going into the future.

At some point, climate change plans become ineffective when you keep increasing the amount of people in the global population who consume these resources. We commend California officials for focusing on the environment, but the full scope of the problem must be addressed if real change is to occur.