For Immediate Release
SACRAMENTO – Strongly supported by climate advocates and California’s leading cement industry group, Senator Josh Becker’s bill providing a strategy to achieve cement with net-zero emissions by 2045 won a unanimous, bipartisan vote from the Assembly Natural Resources Committee Wednesday.
“I’m grateful to the committee members for their bipartisan support,” said Senator Becker, D-Peninsula and vice chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies. “My bill, SB 596, will make California the leader in decarbonizing one of the hardest to decarbonize industries. As California goes, so goes the country. I also think this bill will have global impact.”
Presenting his legislation to the committee, Senator Becker underscored the importance of concrete and cement, calling the building materials vital to our economy. “Concrete accounts for half the weight of everything ever made by humanity. Unfortunately, it also is a major source of greenhouse gases, accounting for about 7% of global CO2 emissions, and it is the second leading industrial source here in California. About 90% of those emissions come from making cement, which acts as the glue that holds the concrete together. It is very important that we figure out how to transition to making it with far less impact on our climate.”
Technologies and processes exist for achieving large reductions in emissions from cement production, but they have not been deployed at scale because California needs the right policies in place to encourage emissions reductions and to create demand for low carbon building products.
“SB 596 is really about encouraging those reductions,” said Senator Becker, who added he’ll soon bring a companion bill to the committee to address the demand-side for low carbon concrete products.
The senator thanked the cement industry for working constructively to get to the right policy outcome. “We’ve found the cement industry to be a willing partner in achieving these goals, as long as the state can create a supportive policy environment and address barriers that exist today.”
SB 596 would:
- Create the supportive policy environment needed to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by 2045.
- Develop a strategy for achieving the long-term and interim targets.
- Protect producers in their effort from unfair competition from out-of-state producers, who are not subject to the same rules.
Environmental and industry representatives and assemblymembers from both sides of the aisle voiced support for SB 596. Here are highlights of their remarks:
Alex Jackson, speaking on behalf of bill sponsor NRDC, said the legislation would provide “the policy environment conducive to shrinking and ultimately eliminating cement’s carbon footprint. That is an urgent task. Concrete is the most widely consumed material on earth. We have a clear task and in SB 596 we have clear solution.”
Tom Tietz, the California Nevada Cement Association’s executive director, said: “I want to thank and compliment Senator Becker, his staff and the sponsors of this bill for being very open to productive and helpful dialogue in creating a bill that reaches a critical point of agreement on how we move forward. In that light, we support this bill and see it as being a great assistance to us in reaching our carbon neutrality goals for 2045.”
Assemblymember Devon J. Mathis, R-Visalia, said: “I want to thank you for your hard work and for working with the industry. All too often we see legislation that comes up with new regulations, and new things, and we don’t always see the industry supporting the regulations we’re putting on them. When we do, I think it’s important we recognize that and that we support that.”
Committee Vice Chair Heath Flora, R-Ripon, said: “I think this is the wave of the future for industries – working together with our environmental communities to develop solutions that are sustainable for everybody. Coming from an ag background, we see this a lot.” The assemblymember also said that when he spoke with cement industry representatives, “I was incredibly encouraged they were coming to the table, they were being proactive … To all the other industries out there: Take note because this is the pathway.”
Assembly Natural Resources Committee Chair Luz M. Rivas, D-San Fernando Valley, wrapped up the comments saying, “Senator Becker, you have bipartisan appreciation from the committee on this bill.”
The 11-0 vote by the committee sends SB 596 to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for its consideration.
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Media Contact: Leslie Guevarra, leslie.guevarra@sen.ca.gov, 415-298-3404