California legislators late on Friday passed a bill to raise the state's renewable energy portfolio standard to 50% by 2030. If signed into law, it would immediately become one of the most ambitious renewable mandates in the nation.
SB 350, which also calls for a doubling of efficiency goals for buildings, originated from an executive order issued by Gov. Jerry Brown in January. It now heads to his desk to be signed into law.
Another climate bill — SB 32 — failed to pass. The bill would have codified in state law a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% blow 1990 levels by 2050. That goal was also set in January through an executive order by Gov. Brown. The order remains in place for now, as does the goal for reducing petroleum use, but both could theoretically be rescinded by Brown's successor.
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