Key Takeaways

Wins:

• Bills focused on Governor Newsom’s accelerated climate proposals made it out of the legislative session 2021-2022 with a 4/5 success score.
• In an unexpected victory for Newsom, the bill focused on reviving Diablo Canyon plant successfully passed in the legislation.

Fails:

• A critical bill, SB 2133, that would have increased the ambition of the 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal from 40% to 55% below the 1990 levels.

The last week of California’s Legislative Session 2021-2022 was a whirlwind and focused on pushing key climate bills. cCarbon analysts had their eyes on a few significant bills which were covered in our Legislative Update. Most of the bills focussing on California’s Governor Newsom’s accelerated climate proposals, which remained undecided until the last day of the session, evaded being pushed until the next session and made it past the finish line. As the session wrapped up for the year yesterday, here’s a closer look at the legislative scorecard on these bills.

PASSED

• AB 1279: The California Climate Crisis Act.

AB 1279, focused on Newsom’s proposal to achieve net zero by 2045, was passed in the Assembly yesterday. It seeks to achieve net zero GHG “emissions as soon as possible, but no later than 2045” and includes provisions to ensure that anthropogenic GHG emissions are 85% below previously established limits by 2045.

• SB 905: Carbon sequestration: Carbon Capture, Removal, Utilization, and Storage Program

SB 905, focused on Newsom’s proposal to establish a clear regulatory framework for carbon removal and carbon capture, utilization and sequestration, passed in the Senate yesterday. It seeks to establish a Carbon Capture, Removal, Utilization, and Storage Program and establish monitoring and reporting schedules for operators and owners to state agencies.

• SB 1137: Oil and gas: operations: location restrictions: notice of intention: health protection zone: sensitive receptors

SB 1137, focused on Newsom’s proposal to protect communities from oil drilling and industrial pollution, was passed in the Senate yesterday. It seeks to establish health protection zones of 3,200 feet around “sensitive receptors”, or facilities such as schools, hospitals, eldercare, or daycare etc., prohibits new fossil fuel operations within these zones, and would also require the suspension of current fossil fuel projects within zones under certain conditions.

• SB 1020: Clean Energy, Jobs, and Affordability Act of 2022

SB 1020, focused on Newsom’s goal to establish a pathway towards 100% clean electricity retail sales goal by 2045, was passed in the Senate yesterday. It seeks to supply 90% of all retail electricity sales to CA customers by the end of 2035, increasing to 95% by the end of 2040, and 100% by the end of 2045. It also aims to supply 100% of all electricity to serve state agencies, except for the State Water Resource Development System, by the end of 2035.

• SB 846: Diablo Canyon powerplant: extension of operations

SB 846, which focused on amending the previous legislation planning the end of operations at Diablo Canyon for years 2025/26, was passed in the Senate yesterday. The legislation will extend operations of both Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 to the end of 2030 and establish the Diablo Canyon Extension Fund, making $1.4 billion available to the borrower, which would be PG&E, from the state General Fund, with an initial payment of $600 Million.

FAILED

• AB 2133: California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: emissions limit

AB 2133, focused on Newsom’s proposal to increase the ambition of the 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal from 40% to 55% below 1990 levels, failed in the Assembly yesterday. It designated the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. Under the act, the state board would have been required to approve a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020 and to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the 1990 level by no later than December 31, 2030. 

• SB 1391: Greenhouse Gases: Market-Based Compliance Mechanism

SB 1391, which focused on reviewing the overallocation of allowances and addressing the concerns of offset additionality before linking with any additional carbon markets, failed in the Assembly yesterday. It laid emphasis on streamlining the reviewing of California’s allowance allocation, introduced a system for tracking banked allowances, and sought to ensure quality.

Analyst Contact:

Megha Jha (mjha@ckinetics.com)