"Governor Gavin Newsom stood before global leaders in Brazil recently at COP30, the annual United Nations climate conference, and introduced himself to the world as the new face of U.S. climate ambition. The scene raised a question back home in California: Why did Newsom recently veto climate solutions that would have made electricity cleaner and more affordable for Californians? For decades, California has shown the world that states and regions can drive climate and economic progress, even when national governments lag."
"Just weeks ago, the governor vetoed three bipartisan bills that would have advanced virtual power plants, which are systems that deliver clean power back to the electrical grid during peak hours by aggregating power from devices many of us already have in our homes such as smart thermostats, rooftop solar panels, home and electric vehicle batteries and electric heat pumps."
Governor Gavin Newsom presented himself at COP30 as a new face of U.S. climate ambition. California paired consistent emissions cuts with sustained economic growth and set global standards for clean car rules. The state created the nation's first economy-wide Cap and Invest cap-and-trade program, recently reformed and extended under Newsom. While preparing for COP30, the administration delayed or diluted key domestic reforms and quietly expanded in-state oil and gas drilling. Newsom urged framing climate as an affordability issue but vetoed three bipartisan bills to advance virtual power plants. Virtual power plants aggregate household devices to deliver clean power during peak hours, reduce blackouts, cut reliance on gas plants, and lower utility bills.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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