California Governor Jerry Brown on Thursday gave final approval to sweeping legislation on climate change that dramatically extends the state's goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"What we're doing here is far-sighted, as well as far-reaching," Brown said at a ceremony in Los Angeles. "California is doing something that no other state has done."

The two bills signed by Brown -- who has pushed for some of the toughest climate policies in the country -- call for California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and for regulators to focus more on pollution issues in disadvantaged communities.

Earlier legislation had called for California to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent below current levels by 2020.

The new measures, which had faced stiff opposition by oil companies, mean that the sale of electric cars will likely significantly increase in the state and that dairy farms and other industries will have to drastically cut emissions.

Lawmakers and businesses who support the new bills say they will help create new jobs and set an example for the rest of the country.

"Harmful emissions are going down, and the economy is going up," said lawmaker Anthony Rendon. "That's a success story -- plain and simple.

"We've done so much on this front, and we can't turn back now. That's why extending our emission-reductions goals is so critical."

The new bills don't directly address the future of the cap and trade program, a lynchpin of California's climate change agenda that has come under criticism.

The program, aimed at controlling greenhouse gas emissions by setting carbon allowances for energy-intensive companies including refineries, raised billions of dollars after it was started in 2012 but demand has shrunk in recent years amid legal challenges.