Rachel Becker / CalMatters

Nations addressing climate change took on gasoline and diesel vehicles in pledges that mirror California’s mandates and plans — and in some cases, go even further.

UN nations have pledged to reduce climate-changing methane and forest destruction within 10 years. California has been trying to handle both problems, with limited success.

Gov. Newsom and state leaders are going to an international conference to make a statement on California climate change policy. The governor has big shoes to fill compared to former Gov. Jerry Brown.

Gov. Newsom says he supports proposed rules on where new oil wells can go, plus additional pollution controls on existing wells.

Gov. Newsom expands the California drought emergency from 50 counties to statewide, but does not order mandatory water conservation. He did authorize water regulators to ban wasteful water use, such as spraying down public sidewalks.

Officials warn that next year’s cuts in water supply could go even deeper as severe drought grips nearly 90% of California. Residents of the North Coast and Bay Area conserved more than Southern Californians did.

Growers’ groups voiced strong opposition, questioning the water board’s power to stop senior rights holders from pumping the water.

Suffering severe drought, the state’s water board is poised to prevent thousands of growers and others from pumping water from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. The state lost a lawsuit with irrigation districts during the last drought.

It’s California’s first big step toward regulating “forever chemicals,” which are ubiquitous in California and around the globe. The proposed goals — which aim to make the cancer risk negligible — are many times lower than federal guidelines for drinking water.

Extreme drought now grips 85% of California so the governor is seeking voluntary action. Newsom expanded the drought emergency to nine more counties, mostly along the Central Coast and in the Bay Area.

In a sign of worsening drought, the state on Tuesday warned about 4,300 users to stop diverting water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed, stretching from Fresno to the Oregon border.

Ninety percent of miles logged by Uber and Lyft drivers in California will have to be in electric vehicles by 2030 under a state mandate to be considered by lawmakers Thursday.