Statement From Ken Berlin, President and CEO of the Climate Reality Project, on the Passage of California’s SB 100 Bill

Today, California Governor Jerry Brown signed the historic SB 100 bill requiring the state’s utilities to reach 60 percent clean energy by 2030 and 100 percent by 2045. The announcement came just after The Climate Reality Project and former Vice President Al Gore hosted a major training event in Los Angeles from August 28-30, training over 2,000 new Climate Reality Leaders to raise awareness of the climate crisis and build powerful support for solutions in communities across the state and around the world. Climate Reality President and CEO Ken Berlin released the following statement applauding the bill’s passage.

“Make no mistake about it – this is a turning point. When the world’s fifth-largest economy commits to 100 percent clean energy, the message it sends to other states and countries and even the White House is unmistakable: The future is renewable.

“There’s that saying: ‘As California goes, so goes the nation.’ With California officially on the road to 100 percent clean energy, more states following suit is not a question of if, but when. Plus, the incredible financial muscle California brings will energize market forces already at work and accelerate the renewable revolution across the nation.

“We’re at a point where the consequences of fossil fuels couldn’t be any clearer. We see longer and more extreme heatwaves baking cities, wildfires swallowing entire neighborhoods, and growing numbers of children suffering asthma attacks. All while the White House won’t even acknowledge this basic reality. SB 100 shows we solve this crisis with a commonsense approach, using practical technologies in our hands today.”