by Bonner Cohen
The Heartland Institute

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed legislation on September 8 that slaps new, more-stringent restrictions on emissions of manmade greenhouse gases.

Brown signed two bills into law. The first is Senate Bill 32, which was sponsored by state Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills). It extends and expands California’s already ambitious target for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. Under a law enacted in 2006, California is required to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The new law mandates greenhouse-gas emissions be reduced by 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030…

Tom Tanton, director of science and technology at the Energy & Environment Legal Institute, says California’s new emissions standards are “restrictive” and burdensome.

“California continues its ill-fated climate quest, [imposing] even more restrictive carbon rules,” said Tanton. “What state leaders fail to recognize or account for is the new rules will accelerate the flight of productive activity outside the state, increasing global emissions, due to leakage.

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