Global Warming and CO2 Emissions Blog

Calilfornia's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed a new, centralized authority under his direct control that would be responsible for implementing one of the nation's most far-reaching initiatives to curb global warming.

The Governator's plan to various interests negotiating legislation that would map California's route toward a gradual rollback of greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2020, a potential 25 percent reduction.

Schwarzenegger did send a strong signal to corporate industry by hand-picking his Climate Action Board and empowering that body with the authority to delay the proposed deadline for reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions if state regulations prove too onerous for businesses.

"It's essential that an emission reduction system have an economic safety valve to ensure the plan protects public health and the environment, is technologically feasible and is not detrimental to the California economy," said Linda Adams, the governor's negotiator in environmental areas.

"The core elements of the bill - mandatory reporting of greenhouse-gas emissions and enforceable limits on greenhouse-gas pollution - have fairly strong support," said Karen Douglas, a negotiator for Environmental Defense, one of the nation's largest environmental advocacy groups.

Researchers say that current global warming trends could deplete water supplies and dry out forests, adding new problems to California's ecosystem and business community.

"California, without question, has a responsibility to address climate change," said Adams, secretary of the state Environmental Protection Agency. "We must do our share to protect our public health, our water supply, our coastline and industry."

California, a global economic power that ranks 12th in the world in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, must lead the way, the governor and legislative leaders agree.

Key elements of the governor's proposed amendments to Assembly Bill 32 include:

• The policy-setting Climate Action Board would be composed almost exclusively of the governor's top agency chiefs.
  
  
• Much of the oversight responsibility would be distributed throughout various departments that would be assigned to monitor specific industries.
  
  
• The new board would establish by June 1, 2008, a set of still-unspecified reduction goals for 2012 and 2016 to ensure progress toward the 2020 target.
  
  
• Industry could secure a reprieve if the 2020 reduction level proves to be harmful to the state's economy.
  
  
• Businesses would be given compliance options, including buying credit for reducing emissions elsewhere in the state, if on-site cuts are not feasible or if the administration's future studies find that the rules cost jobs.

Some industry officials have urged rejection of California-only regulations, insisting that the state's agenda is too aggressive. They say mandatory limits will burden the state's economy with higher costs and more regulation.

"This is a global issue, not a California issue," said Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce. "What makes you think that if you drive up the price of energy and fuel you're going to create jobs in California?"

Oil companies claim that they would have to reduce production by 17 percent to meet the proposed standards - the equivalent of shutting down three plants at a time of tighter supplies and spiking prices at the pump.

But Stanford University economist James L. Sweeney maintains that the net effect of new regulation will be small, whether positive or negative. Caps with incentives could reduce emissions "without any significant damage to the economy if you design the rules of the game well," he said.

Labels: arnold schwarzenegger, California, carbon dioxide emissions, environmental activism, global warming