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Earlier this week's summit to galvanize regional action on climate change, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation Monday that would put California on the path to eliminating fossil fuels from its energy sector.
Senate Bill 100 accelerates the state's transition to renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, and requires all retail electricity to be sourced by 2045. California is the second largest state after Hawaii .
"It will not be easy. It will not be immediate. But that must be done, "Brown said at a signing ceremony in Sacramento. "California is committed to doing all that is necessary to address the existential threat of climate change."
The measure is a symbolic strike against the Trump administration, which has withdrawn from the US efforts to combat climate change by withdrawing from a global deal to reduce gas emissions at greenhouse effect, relax the standards of fuel economy plants.
"Today, California is sending an undeniable message to the nation and the world: no matter who occupies the White House, California will always lead climate change," said Senator Kevin de León, a Democrat from Los Angeles .
Opponents, including utilities and oil companies, argued that the SB 100 would not make a substantial difference as the planet continues to warm up while harming workers in the fossil fuel industries and increasing price of electricity for consumers.
In his last years in office, Brown focused on making California a world leader in climate policy. It has already supported efforts to reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions by 40% from 1990 levels by 2030, and to strengthen the cap-and-trade system requiring polluters to buy permits for their emissions.
The Global Climate Action Summit, which it will host later this week in San Francisco, was organized to encourage regional bodies, such as cities and states, to step up their efforts to combat climate change.
At the signing ceremony, Brown also announced an executive decree to California to achieve carbon neutrality, which would mean it would remove as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere it emits, by 2045.
Brown said the state would achieve this goal by continuing to reduce emissions and increasing carbon sequestration in forests, soils and other natural landscapes.
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