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California's emissions regulations are about to get even stricter

The Golden State wants its greenhouse-gas emissions to be 40 percent lower than 1990's levels by 2030.

Andrew Krok Reviews Editor / Cars
Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry. After spending years as a regular ol' car fanatic, he started working his way through the echelons of the automotive industry, starting out as social-media director of a small European-focused garage outside of Chicago. From there, he moved to the editorial side, penning several written features in Total 911 Magazine before becoming a full-time auto writer, first for a local Chicago outlet and then for CNET Cars.
Andrew Krok
2 min read
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California has led US states when it comes to strict emissions regulations. But being ahead of the pack clearly isn't good enough for the Golden State, as it's on the verge of signing into law even stricter regulations for cutting down on pollution.

The California State Senate approved tougher regulations, and it will head to the desk of Governor Jerry Brown, who signaled his intent to sign it into law, Automotive News reports. The law would aim to get greenhouse-gas emissions 40 percent lower than 1990 levels by 2030. This adds to regulations already in place that hoped to get emissions down to 1990 levels by 2020.

"With these bills, California's charting a clear path on climate beyond 2020 and we'll continue to work to shore up the cap-and-trade program, reduce super pollutants and direct more investment to disadvantaged communities," said Governor Brown in an emailed statement.

Of course, not everybody's happy with these changes. The mandate is said to increase the price of electricity that utility companies will have to pay. Industry advocates, including the California Chamber of Commerce, have called this a "job killer," but if your job involves throwing a bunch of nasty crap up into the atmosphere, perhaps that's not the worst job to kill off, you know?

California's regulations have both helped and hurt the state thus far. It's apparently on track to meet its 2020 goals, and between 2006 and 2013, it outpaced the nation in cutting carbon dioxide emissions. But, at the same time, California lost more manufacturing jobs than the national average, and the state tax board said current cap-and-trade programs have added about 12 cents per gallon to the cost of gas.