A bill to fine California’s oil and gas industry for damages related to climate change has passed its first committee, the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, clearing its first hurdle. The bill, S.B. 1497, by state Sen. Caroline Menjivar, would require the state to assess fees on the state’s largest greenhouse gas emitters. It would create a program in California’s EPA to assess such fees on companies that emitted more than 1 billion metric tons of CO2 from 2000 to 2020 via fossil fuels extraction, production, and sale of fossil fuels. Menjavar plans to amend the bill to clarify that utilities will not be included in the bill, and to give the Legislature more control over how the funds collected are used.
Solar Dominates US Energy Capacity Growth
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has published data showing that solar accounted for over 75% of US electrical generating
