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   SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Heat waves and drought gripping   
   California highlight the urgency to slash fossil fuel use and   
   remove planet-warming emissions from the air, a top state   
   official said Thursday during discussions of a new plan for the   
   state to reach its climate goals.   
      
   “I think every single Californian today knows that we’re living   
   through a climate emergency,” said Jared Blumenfeld, secretary   
   of the California Environmental Protection Agency.   
      
   He spoke as the California Air Resources Board opened a hearing   
   on a plan for the nation’s most populous state to achieve carbon   
   neutrality by 2045. That means the state would remove as much   
   carbon from the air as it emits. The timeline is among the most   
   ambitious in the nation and in the world, but few who offered   
   public comment were happy with the state’s plan for reaching   
   that milestone.   
      
   Environmental groups, academics, and people who live in heavily   
   polluted neighborhoods said the plan doesn’t do enough to reduce   
   the production or use of fossil fuels. Some business, industry   
   and labor groups, meanwhile, said the transition could raise   
   prices and hurt workers.   
      
   “How we achieve our climate goals matters as much as when we   
   achieve them, and we need a plan for real zero, not net zero,”   
   said Catherine Garoupa White, a member of the plan’s   
   Environmental Justice Advisory Committee and executive director   
   of the Central Valley Air Quality Coalition.   
      
   The air board members will hold their own discussion of the plan   
   on Friday. The 14-member board is made up of political   
   appointees with backgrounds on local air boards, the   
   transportation sector, environmental justice communities and   
   agriculture.   
      
   California is often touted as a leader on U.S. climate policy   
   and it has set some of the most aggressive rules for regulating   
   vehicle emissions. The size of the California’s economy — it’s   
   bigger than those of most nations — means the state’s climate   
   policies can often drive major business changes. It’s 2045   
   carbon neutrality goal is matched only by Hawaii among states,   
   and tracks with goals set by other major economies like Germany.   
      
   The state would reach its goal through combination of lowering   
   fossil fuel use and using technology to remove any remaining   
   emissions from the air. Board staff estimates it would reduce   
   petroleum demand across the economy and the use of fossil   
   natural gas in buildings by 91% by 2045.   
      
   Doing so would require 30 times as many electric vehicles on the   
   road compared to today, six times more electric appliances in   
   homes, four times more wind and solar generation and 60 times   
   more hydrogen.   
      
   Such a sweeping transition would lower the state’s emissions   
   about 78% come 2045. Some observers note that Washington and New   
   York, both Democratic-led states, have more ambitious targets   
   for direct emissions reductions, 95% and 85% respectively,   
   though the proposals don’t offer perfect comparisons.   
      
   Critics from environmental groups say California’s plan doesn’t   
   call for deep enough emissions cuts and relies too heavily on   
   unproven and energy intensive carbon capture and removal. The   
   concerns about such technology track with global concerns about   
   the best way to tackle emissions goals.   
      
   The meeting grew tense in the mid-afternoon as environmental   
   justice advocates who had been rallying outside walked into the   
   hearing room and began singing and chanting over a speaker   
   representing business interests. The air board briefly paused   
   the meeting as chants protesting the use of fossil fuels   
   continued.   
      
   The environmental advocates said they felt business and fossil   
   fuel representatives were given more favorable speaking slots.   
      
   “There are not two sides to this issue,” said Ari Eisenstadt,   
   campaign manager for Regenerate California, an effort to   
   transition away from fossil fuels.   
      
   George Peppas, president of a chamber of commerce group south of   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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