Californian legislators on Thursday passed bills that present an ambitious push against global warming as the largest US state economy battles the effects of climate change.
The bills backed by Governor Gavin Newsom on greenhouse gas emissions, carbon removal and capture, oil well buffers and clean energy development will amount to $54 billion, The New York Times estimates.
“We’re taking all of these major actions now in the most aggressive push on climate this state has ever seen because later is too late," Mr Newsom said earlier in August.
"California will continue blazing a trail for America and the rest of the world on the swift and meaningful actions necessary for cutting carbon pollution, protecting communities and leading the clean-energy future.”
The state has wrestled with the effects of climate change for decades, from fierce wildfire seasons, water restrictions from persistent droughts and energy shortages from extreme heat.
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A home burns in Mariposa county, California, where firefighters are battling to bring the Oak blaze under control. AP -
California officials said firefighters arrived at the scene early but were not able to contain the blaze. Getty -
The fire began on Friday and is closing in on the Yosemite area, home to some of the largest and oldest sequoia trees in the world. Getty -
California Highway Patrol officers stand next to a car that crashed into a ditch as the driver attempted to flee from the fire in Mariposa county. AP -
Firefighter Joanna Jimenez holds a dog she found wandering in a fire evacuation zone in Mariposa county. AP -
An aircraft drops flame retardant to control the fire. Reuters -
The ruins of a home gutted by the fire smoulder near Midpines, north-east of Mariposa county. AFP -
A row of mailboxes tagged with evacuation notices sit along Triangle road in Mariposa county. Bloomberg -
The fire has consumed at least 6,314 hectares of land, an area more than half the size of Paris. Reuters -
Mariposa county residents check a fire incident map not far from billowing clouds of smoke. EPA -
An aerial view of the fire as it approaches Yosemite National Park. Reuters -
Firefighters look on as the Oak Fire burns in Darrah, Mariposa county. Reuters -
A firefighter douses flames near Aromas, California. AP -
More than two decades of drought and rising temperatures have made California more vulnerable to bushfires. AFP -
The blaze in Mariposa county represents a dangerous new front in the fight against fires in the western US. AP -
Allison Baggett watches as the Oak fire burns close to her home in Mariposa county, shortly before evacuating. Reuters
Mr Newsom declared a state of emergency on Wednesday before a Labour Day holiday weekend heatwave across the state, to increase energy supply and encourage citizens to use less electricity.
California is not shy about its fight against climate change. It recently passed legislation to ban the sale of new petrol-powered cars by 2035.
One of the bills passed on Thursday includes a $1.4bn government loan to extend the life of the state's only nuclear power plant, to shore up reliable electricity supply.
It marks a reversal of the state's 2016 decision to retire Pacific Gas and Electric's Diablo Canyon power plant by 2025.
After it is signed by Mr Newsom, the legislation will delay Diablo Canyon's retirement by five years to 2030 and exempt some state agencies from complying with certain environmental laws to enable the extension.
The bill easily won the support of the two thirds of legislators it needed to pass.
California wants to produce all of its electricity from clean sources by 2045, but faced challenges such as rolling power cuts during a heatwave in 2020.
Nuclear energy, which does not emit climate-warming emissions, accounts for about 9 per cent of the state's electricity and nearly a fifth of its carbon-free power.
Reuters contributed reporting
