SENATE RULES COMMITTEE SR 36
Office of Senate Floor Analyses
(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478
THIRD READING
Bill No: SR 36
Author: Cortese (D), et al.
Introduced: 4/1/25
Vote: Majority
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 6-2, 4/30/25
AYES: Blakespear, Gonzalez, Hurtado, Menjivar, Padilla, Pérez
NOES: Valladares, Dahle
SUBJECT: The Paris Accords
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This resolution affirms California’s leadership on climate action and
California’s commitment to the Paris Accords.
ANALYSIS: Existing law:
1) States, under the California Climate Crisis Act (AB 1279, Muratsuchi, Chapter
337, Statutes of 2022), that it is the policy of the state to achieve net zero
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions no later than 2045 and maintain net negative
GHG emissions thereafter, and to ensure that by 2045 statewide anthropogenic
GHG emissions are reduced to at least 85% below the 1990 level.
2) Establishes the policy of the state that eligible renewable energy resources and
zero-carbon resources supply 90% of all retail sales of electricity by December
31, 2035; 95% of all retail sales of electricity by December 31, 2040; 100% of
all retail sales of electricity by December 31, 2045; and 100% of electricity
procured to serve all state agencies by December 31, 2035. (Public Utilities
Code §454.53)
3) Establishes clean transportation goals for the state to reduce GHG emissions
from vehicles including:
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a) Achieving 5 million zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) on California roads by
2030, and 100% of all new passenger car and truck sales being ZEVs by
2035.
b) Achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 across the transportation sector.
(Executive Order B-55-18, 2018)
This resolution:
1) States that humanity has an obligation to future generations to restore and
maintain a safe and stable climate that ensures long-term survival and
prosperity.
2) States that California is already experiencing the devastating effects of climate
change, including record-breaking heat waves, drought, wildfires, extreme
weather, and rising sea levels, all of which threaten public health, safety, and
economic stability.
3) Asserts that California remains steadfast in its commitment to reduce GHG
emissions aligning with the United States’ nationally determined contribution
under the Paris Accords.
4) Makes various claims that California is taking steps to accelerate the transition
to a clean energy economy, has reduced vehicle emissions, has advanced
climate adaptation strategies.
5) States that California has committed billions of dollars in funding for climate
resilience, clean technology jobs, and frontline community protections.
6) States that achieving state climate goals will drive the creation of high-quality
clean energy jobs, expand access to sustainable workforce training programs,
and strengthen economic resilience, particularly for communities
disproportionately affected by pollution, environmental injustice, and economic
disinvestment.
7) Formally affirms California’s leadership on climate action and California’s
commitment to the Paris Accords, environmental sustainability, and to
combating climate change by adopting climate restoration, net-zero, and net-
negative carbon dioxide emissions as state climate policy priorities.
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Background
1) Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty
on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at the UN Climate Change
Conference in Paris, France, on 12 December 2015. It came into effect
November 4th, 2016. The overarching goal of the Paris Agreement is to hold
“the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-
industrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C
above pre-industrial levels.”
The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates that
crossing the 1.5°C threshold risks unleashing far more severe climate change
impacts, including more frequent and severe droughts, heatwaves and rainfall.
According to a 2018 IPCC report, to limit global warming to 1.5°C,
greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 at the latest and decline 43%
by 2030. The Paris Agreement is a landmark in the multilateral climate change
process because, for the first time, a binding agreement brought all nations
together to combat climate change and adapt to its effects.
2) Climate restoration. The concept of “climate restoration” is used to mean a
return to preindustrial atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Before the Industrial
Revolution started in the mid-1700s, the global average amount of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere was about 280 parts per million (ppm). Today, that
level is at approximately 430 ppm and climbing.
The term “climate restoration” has not generally been part of the discussions
this committee (or Legislature) has had around GHG emission reduction goals.
There is one instance of “climate restoration” appearing in California statute:
the Community Economic Resilience Fund Program established pursuant to the
Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review’s SB 162 (Chapter 259,
Statutes of 2021). The term also appeared in a bill this author introduced in
2022, SB 1297 (Cortese), which would have (among other things) stated the
intent of the Legislature to advance climate restoration objectives by taking a
leadership role in reducing embodied carbon in buildings. “Climate
restoration” also appeared in a 2023 resolution from this author as well, SR 34
(Cortese, 2023, Adopted in Senate).
Atmospheric CO2 levels are at the highest they have ever been in recorded
history and continue to climb. Policy discussions around the end goal of
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emission mitigation and CO2 removal (i.e. how much carbon do we ultimately
plan to remove?) are noteworthy but do not change the vital necessity of first
stopping the increase of emissions. In order to stave off the worst impacts of
climate change, all efforts must be taken to minimize the peak concentration of
atmospheric CO2.
Comments
1) Purpose of Bill. According to the author, “California has long been a global
leader in climate action, and we must continue to lead. SR 36 reaffirms our
commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement and makes clear that climate
restoration, net-zero, and net-negative carbon emissions are priorities for our
state. Despite the federal government’s withdrawal from the Paris Accords,
California - alongside 23 other governors through the “U.S. Climate Alliance” -
has continued to uphold and advance the goals of the agreement.
“SR 36 formally affirms California’s commitment to the goals of the 2015 Paris
Climate Agreement and reinforces California’s leadership role in global climate
action.”
2) Supporting the Paris Agreement. On January 20th, 2025, President Donald
Trump signed an executive order directing the United States to again withdraw
from the landmark Paris climate agreement. President Trump’s action, hours
after he was sworn into a second term, echoed his directive in 2017 when he
announced that the U.S. would abandon the global Paris accord. In response to
this withdrawal, the United States Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of
two dozen governors representing nearly 60% of the U.S. economy and 55%
of the U.S. population wrote a statement affirming their commitment to the
Paris Agreement stating that “we will continue America’s work to achieve the
goals of the Paris Agreement and slash climate pollution.”
3) Climate and Energy – interwoven but not identical. California has set ambitious
climate goals, including carbon neutrality by 2045 and a goal to produce all
electricity from renewable and carbon-free sources by that same year. Meeting
California’s climate goals will require a massive buildout of infrastructure
across many sectors of the economy. In the energy sector, for example, the
California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) 2022 Scoping Plan estimates that in
order to power new electric vehicles, clean industries, and more, our state will
need roughly 150% as much electricity by 2045 as is available today. Such
expansion will need more transmission lines, energy storage, demand response,
and other related resources. Because only about half of our state’s electricity is
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currently derived from renewable and carbon-free sources, this means that
California will need to add three times as much clean energy capacity as is
available today in just 22 years. To achieve that goal, California should be
adding roughly seven gigawatts (GW) of new clean energy per year between
now and 2045. Currently, the state is only adding about two to three GW per
year on average. However, while the transition to renewable energy sources is
essential to driving down greenhouse gas emissions, clean energy only reduces
GHG as it replaces existing fossil fuel consumption.
4) What is “climate restoration”? Per the California Climate Crisis Act (AB 1279,
Muratsuchi, Chapter 337, Statutes of 2022), it is the policy of the state to
achieve net zero GHG emissions no later than 2045 and maintain net negative
GHG emissions thereafter. Indeed, given the extreme weather events, rising
seas, and tremendous harms to humans and animals even our current climate is
causing, it should come as no surprise that our goal should not only be
mitigating emissions, but also going back to a safe, sustainable climate by
removing more carbon than we emit thereafter. “Climate restoration,” then
appears to be less of a new or alternative idea, and more of a term applied to the
relatively far-off end-goal of the state’s existing climate policies. It is not—in
the same way that net-zero and net-negative goals are—the official and legally
binding policy of the state to achieve “climate restoration”.
Related/Prior Legislation
SR 34 (Cortese, 2023) – Adopted in Senate, emphasizes the importance and
difficulty of restoring a stable, livable climate for future generations, and it calls
upon the CARB to urge the United States ambassador to the United Nations to
propose a climate treaty that would restore and stabilize greenhouse gas levels as
our common climate goal
SB 1297 (Cortese, 2022), among other things, stated the intent of the Legislature to
advance climate restoration objectives by taking a leadership role in reducing
embodied carbon in buildings. SB 1297 died on suspense in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:
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SUPPORT: (Verified 5/1/25)
Active San Gabriel Valley
350 Bay Area Action
California Climate Action
Climate Action California
Climate Breakthrough
Plant-based Advocates - Los Gatos
Sandiego350
Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action
OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/1/25)
None received
Prepared by: Brynn Cook / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108
5/2/25 10:11:03
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