The report attributes the large dip in part to the economic slowdown. Californians drove fewer miles and used less energy in those tough years.
At the same time, California saw an 11 percent increase in renewable energy generation from 2009 to 2010.
Next10 founder Noel Perry says forward-looking state policies and private investment in renewables have spurred the positive changes.
PERRY: "From 2010 to 2011, clean tech investment in California rose by 24 percent to reach $3.5 billion."
The report found that since 1990 California's greenhouse gas
emissions per capita fell 16
percent.
California gets about 14 percent of its energy from renewable
sources. This is nearly three times more than the rest of the
United States, but far less than the 33 percent required by law in
2020.
