SACRAMENTO (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation that regulates emissions from dairy cows and landfills for the first time as California broadens its efforts to fight climate change beyond carbon-based greenhouse gases.
Brown’s move Monday targets a category of gases known as short-lived climate pollutants, which have an outsize effect on global warming despite their relatively short life in the atmosphere.
Environmentalists hope that tackling short-lived pollutants such as methane now would buy time to develop new and more affordable technology to reduce carbon emissions.
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The legislation lays out steep reductions in a variety of pollutants, including methane. It’s tied to $90 million in funding for the dairy industry and garbage collectors.
Republicans say the regulations will hurt agricultural businesses, despite concessions made to dairy farmers.
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