CARB unanimously approves AB 32 implementation plan
California’s top air agency – the California Air Resources Board (CARB) – unanimously approved a sweeping plan yesterday to implement the state’s law 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act (commonly referred to as “AB 32”), requiring dramatic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. After several months of comment on the draft proposal, CARB adopted what is referred to as its “Scoping Plan”, a 134-page plan that outlines targets for every sector of the economy, including cars, refineries, buildings, landfills, energy sources, and others. The ambitious plan requires a third of California’s electricity needs to come from solar energy, wind farms, and other renewable sources to meet the greenhouse gas reduction goals set forth in AB32.
AB32 was the first statewide effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and requires the state to cut its emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020, and reducing them to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.
CARB’s approval of the plan is a major step toward California’s implementation of AB32, though before the plan can go into effect, specific implementing regulations must still be drafted and approved. Much more remains to be done. (The plan has been compared to a menu for a meal, with the recipes still to be developed.) And, of course, the rules are likely to face stiff opposition from various industries and interest groups – particularly in light of California’s struggling economy – however, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently stated that California has “no intention of backing away from our historic commitment to the fight against global warming because the economy has slowed down.”
One of the plan’s central features is a carbon cap-and-trade program for businesses, in an attempt to provide financial incentives to businesses to reduce carbon emission, which will enable companies who need to use greater emissions in their operations to purchase emission credits from companies who are able to reduce emissions. Such a trading program would cover about 85 percent of the state's emissions, from sectors such as electricity production, transportation and industry, according to CARB’s press release announcing the plan.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the plan “lays out targets for virtually every sector of the economy, from electrical plants and automobiles to landfills and city planning.” The broad regulatory scheme may serve as a blueprint for regulation at the national level, with President-elect Barack Obama promising national action to control emissions.
For additional background, see GlobalClimateLaw.com’s previous posts on the subject:
http://www.globalclimatelaw.com/admin/trackback/100405
