RTO Insider
By Hudson Sangree
Measures tackling offshore wind, building decarbonization and other energy-related topics landed on the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom this week after lawmakers completed their 2021 session and Newsom survived a recall effort...
Another bill that reached the governor deals with greenhouse gas emissions from the production of cement, a key ingredient in making concrete, the world’s most common building material. California no longer has coal-burning power plants, but eight cement kilns continue to burn coal, releasing carbon dioxide.
Senate Bill 596, by Sen. Josh Becker (D) of San Mateo, would order the California Air Resources Board to develop a strategy for decarbonizing by July 2023 and set a goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions no later than December 31, 2045. It cleared the Assembly on Thursday, 74-2, and the Senate on Friday, 29-9.
“This bill positions California to develop a model strategy to shrink cement’s huge carbon footprint, while continuing to grow our economy and protect public health. Governor Newsom should quickly sign it into law,” Alex Jackson, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement after the bill’s passage.