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ARB presents plan to reduce climate changing emissions. 

Release 08-60
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2008
	  	  	
Stanley Young
(916)322-2990
cell (916)956-9409
www.arb.ca.gov

California charts course to fight global warming

Plan to slash greenhouse gases sets state on path to clean
energy, new economic growth


SACRAMENTO-The California Air Resources Board charted a course
today to reduce California's greenhouse gas emissions by 30
percent over the next 12 years.

The measures and policies in the Climate Change Draft Scoping
Plan set California on a trajectory toward a clean-energy
future. The recommended reduction measures will continue to
drive innovation, improve the environment and enhance public
health, support the growth of the cleantech sector and create
thousands of new jobs.

"With the release of this draft scoping plan, California is once
again blazing a trail to lead other states and the nation to
address climate change," said Mary Nichols, Chairman of the Air
Resources Board. "Our economy and our society face no greater
threat than global warming. This draft plan is the roadmap to
move us quickly to a cleaner, more sustainable future, energy
independence and a healthier environment. This plan fulfills the
Governor's determination to act now, and it is based on the
conviction that Californians will rise to the challenge and
develop creative solutions to improve our environment and grow
our economy."

Development of the Scoping Plan is a central requirement of AB
32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Nuñez, Pavley),
that calls on California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
to 1990 levels by 2020. Governor Schwarzenegger signed the bill
into law in September 2006. Release of the draft plan will be
followed by further evaluation and economic modeling, and
workshops are planned throughout the state to present the
details to the general public allow ARB to hear public
comments.

The comprehensive approach includes both new and existing
measures in every sector of California's economy. It is designed
with strong elements of enforcement and developed to ensure that
emissions - and all reductions --are accurately tracked.

Central to the draft plan is a cap and trade program covering 85
percent of the state's emissions. This program will be developed
in conjunction with the Western Climate Initiative, comprised of
seven states and three Canadian provinces, to create a regional
carbon market.

The draft plan also proposes that utilities produce a third of
their energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar and
geothermal, and proposes to expand and strengthen existing
energy efficiency programs and building and appliance standards
that have already saved Californians more than $50 billion over
the past 30 years in reduced costs for energy.

The draft plan calls for full implementation of the California
Clean Car law (the Pavley standards) to provide a wide range of
less polluting and more efficient cars and trucks to consumers
who will save on operating costs through reduced fuel use. It
also calls for development and implementation of the Low Carbon
Fuel Standard which will require oil companies to make cleaner
domestically produced fuels.

The draft plan encourages improvements to the ways we grow and
build our communities to make more livable, walkable cities, and
shorten commutes.

Several additional initiatives and measures play important roles
in reaching the required reductions under AB 32. These include:

    * full deployment of the Governor's Million Solar Roofs
initiative;
    * a high-speed rail;
    * water-related energy efficiency measures; and
    * a range of regulations to reduce emissions from trucks and
from ships docked in California ports. 

Under the plan the State of California is committing to reducing
its own carbon footprint by 30 percent. It also calls on
Californians to make changes to their personal behavior to
reduce their carbon footprint through carpooling and simple
actions such as adjusting thermostats to use less energy for
heating and cooling.

ARB invites public comment on the draft plan. Once the final
draft is prepared, it will go to the Board for consideration in
November. After adoption of the plan, all measures in the plan
will be thoroughly vetted and analyzed, with full public input,
over the next two years as they move through the regulatory
process.

Preliminary economic modeling of the plan indicates that the
overall savings from improved efficiency and the development of
alternatives to petroleum will on the whole outweigh the costs.
The draft plan recommends targeted fees to fund the state's
long-term commitment to AB 32 administration.

The draft plan can be viewed at: www.arb.ca.gov

The Air Resources Board is a department of the California
Environmental Protection Agency. ARB's mission is to promote and
protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through
effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and
considering effects on the economy. The ARB oversees all air
pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain
health based air quality standards.

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