California State Assemblymembers Steve Bennett (D-Ventura) and Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles), State Senator Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara), and representatives from the state’s leading environmental organizations announced legislation to bring needed information on how the state is implementing climate change measures.
“We must push for accountability and transparency,” said Limón. “This bill will further those goals, giving the public more information on our actions and our progress.”
AB 2532, a common sense measure co-authored by Limón, Bennett, and Carrillo, will require state agencies and departments to report the actions they are taking to implement the Climate Change Action Plan publicly on their websites. The action plan, created under Assembly Bill 32, was developed to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in California, as well as improve energy efficiency and expand the use of renewable energy resources. The bill was introduced last week in the Assembly and is likely to be referred to the Assembly Natural Resources Committee for a hearing later this year.
“The window is closing on the time we have to address climate change,” said Bennett, “This bill is aimed at providing this crucial information from the appropriate state agencies and departments.”
Linda Krop — chief counsel of the Environmental Defense Center, a nonprofit environmental law firm headquartered in Santa Barbara — said this bill would provide accountability and strategy to achieve the goal of reducing harmful carbon emissions. “While California has a plan to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, the devil is in the details,” she said. “The bill’s added transparency will provide both the public and decision-makers with the necessary information to implement real reductions in climate disrupting emissions.”
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