Climate Plan Aims to Cut California’s Greenhouse Gases
The California Air Resources Board presented its plan to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020 at a workshop in San Jose on August 8, 2008. The audience of about 100 came to offer comments on the AB 32 draft scoping plan, designed to implement the California Global Warming Solution Act, as much as to hear what the board proposes.
The State of California’s climate plan establishes an ambitious goal. It seeks to engage individuals, communities and businesses in strategies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
“. . . make our cities healthier, our natural areas safer and our working landscapes more productive; that make our economy more resilient as we reduce our reliance on imported petroleum; and that pave the way for technologies that can make our state both more prosperous and more sustainable.”
The state’s $100 billion travel and hospitality industry, and the 900,000 travel-related jobs, are particularly vulnerable to climate change. During the 2008 fire season, over 2,000 wildfires scorched California, and uncontrolled blazes forced mass evacuations at some of the state’s cherished destinations–Big Sur, Santa Cruz, Yosemite, Shasta-Trinity, and the Northern Sierras.
Spring 2008, preceding the fires of summer, was the driest in a generation. The governor declared a water emergency and water districts across the state instituted mandatory water rationing, measures that affect California residents and tourists alike.
The shrinking Sierra snowpack could devastate the state’s ski resorts and affect outdoor recreation activities year-round. The state’s wineries are threatened by rising temperatures and changing weather patterns. California’s coastal communities face rising sea levels and warming waters, which could adversely affect these tourist destinations.
The Air Resources Board will consider comments on the plan, submitted in writing and at public hearings, when it writes its “Proposed Scoping Plan,” which will be released on October 3, 2008. The board will vote on the proposed plan at its November 20 meeting.
Keep reading for more about the Draft Scoping Plan; or
According to the Air Resources Board, the state’s transportation sector–”largely the cars and trucks that move goods and people”–contributes 38 percent of the state’s total greenhouse gases (GHG), followed by the electricity and commercial/residential energy sector, at 32 percent, and industry, at 20 percent. The plan proposes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by shifting to clean energy and a green economy.
Given the sources of greenhouse gas emissions–transportation, energy production and use, and industry–the Air Resources Board proposes strategies that focus on these big three sectors:
Transportation
- Reduce GHG emissions from cars and light-duty trucks by implementing the “Pavley” standards. The EPA has blocked California’s effort to impose the tighter vehicle emission standards, and the state has gone to court to compel the EPA to grant a waiver that would allow California to implement the Pavley standards;
- Develop a “low carbon” fuel for vehicles in the state;
- Improve efficiency and lower emissions of heavy-duty trucks, and implement electrification and efficiency measures at the state’s ports.
Electricity and Commercial/Residential Energy
- Improve energy efficiency and conservation programs for buildings, such as green building standards, and appliances;
- Generate 33 percent of the state’s electricity by renewable energy sources by 2020;
- Increase the state’s “co-generation” capacity for electricity production.
Industry
- Audit the state’s largest industrial polluters to identify cost-effective measures to reduce both GHG emissions and toxic pollutants;
- Recover and dispose of other gases that affect climate change–primarily used as refrigerants and fire suppression, and in the production of insulating foam and semi-conductors; and develop safe alternatives to these gases.
The board proposes a number of other strategies that don’t specifically target the big three sectors, such as preserving forest lands that serve as carbon “sinks;” conserving and recycling water and increasing water efficiency; regional measures to reduce vehicle miles traveled by encouraging smart growth, mixed-use development, and public transit; develop high-speed rail; and move toward “zero-waste” by strengthening reuse and recycling measures.
The Air Resources Board continues to evaluate a number of measures related to the glass and cement industries, and transportation:
Transportation: Feebates to encourage drivers to switch to cleaner vehicles; congestion pricing to reduce traffic during rush hours; “pay-as-you-drive” programs that reward those who drive less.
Cement: reducing “carbon intensity” of production process and reducing waste;
Electricity: Expand solar programs for home and business; reduce the state’s reliance of electricity generated by out-of-state coal-fired plants.
Glass Manufacturing: Encourage recycling and improve energy efficiency of production process.
The state will rely on a regional “cap and trade” system that will cap GHG emissions from the big three: electricity and commercial/residential energy, industry, and transportation. Working with the Western Climate Initiative, which includes seven western states and three Canadian provinces, businesses that reduce the GHG emissions below their cap and trade these “allowances” to other companies. This market-based approach is designed to encourage the development of cost-effective measures to meet overall reduction targets.
California Climate Change Resource Center
California Air Resource Board: where you can download the scoping plan, view public comments, and learn about future meetings of the board and its advisory committees
Read or post comments on the Draft Scoping Plan