Already an early-adopter in the fight against climate change, California has taken another step to bolster its reputation by more quickly reducing its emissions of greenhouse gases.


Building on the success of the previous administration, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed an executive order in late April that will ramp up the path toward lower emissions.


Executive Order B-30-15, requires that the state lower greenhouse-gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32), signed by his predecessor, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, requires the state to reduce emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. The state is already on target to reach 1990 levels by 2020. This latest action will help to steepen the curve as California strives toward the 80 percent target.


The order contains several provisions to help the state reach its goals. For example, all state agencies with jurisdiction over sources of greenhouse-gas emissions must implement measures to help reach the goal. State agencies are also required to take climate change into account in their planning and investment decisions, by giving priority to actions that build climate preparedness and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Agencies are also required to consider climate change in the evaluation and comparison of infrastructure investments and alternatives.


The order stipulates that the state’s Five-Year Infrastructure Plan take current and future climate-change impacts into account in all infrastructure projects. Finally, the governor’s Office of Planning and Research will establish a technical advisory group to help agencies comply with the provisions.