Josh Becker, D-San Mateo, focuses on new climate goals for state

“To get to zero we have to remake every aspect of our economy, every aspect from our transportation to our buildings, building materials to our agriculture,” said Becker. “We need enough countries to take action, and I include California in that — we’re the fifth largest economy in the world.”

Becker said he plans to introduce legislation next year requiring the state government to operate with net zero carbon emissions by 2035, a decade ahead of the states’ existing target to reach net zero for the state’s entire economy by 2045.

The state is currently decreasing its carbon emissions by about 1% per year, said Becker. But to meet the 2045 goal, that number will need to bump up to 4% every year until then. Becker hopes, with his legislation, the state can lead the way by being an early adopter of green technology.

“We’re trying to think about how do we move faster in each area of the economy,” said Becker. “The technology has matured so much, it’s really now about political will.”

Becker said he also plans to introduce legislation to encourage the construction of environmentally necessary projects by “cutting red tape” that has prevented implementation. 

Offshore wind power generators, for instance, while planned for the state, need to be implemented faster, he said. While the state has already invested in solar and onshore wind technology, those methods of powering the grid alone are not sufficient. During peak hours for power consumption in winter months, 80% to 90% of electricity is generated using fossil fuels due to lack of sun and onshore wind, he said. 

“The great thing about offshore wind, it’s perfectly correlated — it’s very powerful when the energy from the sun and onshore wind is going down,” said Becker. 

Becker also expressed a need to increase the cost of producing greenhouse gas by re-examining the state’s cap-and-trade laws, rules which require polluters including oil refineries, power plants and manufacturers to pay a tax on their excess emissions.

“The most important thing is that polluters pay,” said Becker. “We need to make that price that they’re paying at the right level to push them in the right direction.”

Becker said that the current price, which charges polluters roughly $18 for every ton of carbon emitted, is at the bottom of the market; Europe’s cost is $60 per ton.

Upgrading the power grid to handle increased demand as the state switches to electricity for transportation and residential and commercial needs is another priority, Becker said. Encouraging the switch to electric vehicles, and ensuring charging infrastructure is widely available will be necessary to meet the state targets, he said.

“It can’t just be wealthy people driving electric vehicles,” said Becker. “Getting the most polluting vehicles off the road is critically important in terms of bang for the buck.”

Becker this year introduced a bill offering a tax break to low-income Californians to switch to electric cars, and passed legislation aimed at simplifying the construction of charging infrastructure. 

The centerpiece of Becker’s legislative accomplishments in his first year was a bill aiming to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from cement use within the state. Cement manufacturing ranks among the largest sources of carbon pollution statewide, after only oil and gas production.

The Legislature will reconvene Jan. 3.

corey@smdailyjournal.com

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