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Another step forward in the progress to reducing climate changing
gas emissions. 

Release 08-102
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 11, 2008
	  	  	
Stanley Young
(916)322-2990
(916)956-9409 - mobile
www.arb.ca.gov

ARB says yes to climate action plan

Plan will slash greenhouse gases, fight global warming and
provide economic stimulus for jobs and clean energy future

SACRAMENTO-The Air Resources Board today approved California's
plan to reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions to 1990
levels by 2020.

"This plan is California's prospectus for a more secure and
sustainable economy," said ARB Chairman Mary Nichols. "It will
guide capital investments into energy efficiency to save us
money, into renewable energy to break our dependence on oil, and
promote a new generation of green jobs for hundreds of thousands
of Californians."

By moving first in the nation," added Nichols, "California
maintains its position at the front of the line in attracting
venture capital, and positions us as a leader in the race to
develop the clean technology products, patents and projects the
global market demands and needs."

Development of the Scoping Plan is a central requirement of AB
32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Nuñez, Pavley),
that requires California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions
to 1990 levels by 2020. Governor Schwarzenegger signed the bill
into law in September 2006.

The plan is built on the principle that a balanced mix of
strategies is the best way to cut emissions by approximately 30
percent, and grow the economy in a clean and sustainable
direction.

An important component of the 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 four Canadian provinces that have
committed to cap their emissions and create a regional carbon
market.

Additional key recommendations of the plan include strategies to
enhance and expand proven cost-saving energy efficiency programs;
implementation of California's clean cars standards; increases in
the amount of clean and renewable energy used to power the state;
and, implementation of a low-carbon fuel standard that will make
the fuels used in the state cleaner.

The plan proposes full deployment of the California Solar
Initiative, 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. There are also
measures designed to safely reduce or recover a range of very
potent greenhouse gases - refrigerants and other industrial gases
- that contribute to global warming at a level many times greater
than carbon dioxide contributes.

The plan recommends targeted fees to fund the state's long-term
commitment to AB 32 administration.

The ARB will begin developing detailed strategies to implement
all of the recommended measures that must be in place by 2012.

Today's vote marks California as the first state in the nation
to formally approve a comprehensive greenhouse gas reduction plan
that is required under statute and that involves every sector of
the economy.

The plan is the product of an 18-month-long public process with
scores of workshops and public meetings and hundreds of people
testifying in person before the board. ARB staff received more
than 43,000 individual comments, and more than a quarter-million
copies of the plan have been viewed or downloaded from ARB's
website since it was released on October 15.

The Scoping Plan and all appendices 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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