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Dear Board Members,

My name is Catherine Lyons and I am representing the Bay Area
Council, Jim Wunderman and the business community of the Bay Area
region. 

I am here to announce our support of the implementation of the
California cap-and-trade program--Alternative 2 of the Supplement
to the AB32 Scoping Plan—without further costly delays to the
California economy and environment.

The Bay Area Council is proud to have been the business group to
negotiate and the first business group to support California’s
landmark effort to address global climate change, starting in 2006.
We are happy to be at this point in the process. Our members are
business leaders of some of the region’s largest employers, and
they know how much is at stake if we do not take actionable steps
toward reducing emissions.

The following reasons compelled the business community to act on
this issue:
•	California’s momentum to become the center of clean technology
innovation would be lost if we backpedal on our commitment to
become a clean-energy based economy.
•	Investors, manufacturers and workers in California’s clean energy
sector face fierce global competition. 
•	Our partners in emissions trading are moving forward with
developing their growing market and need a clear signal from
California that would stabilize carbon pricing.

Now, the real work begins, and the business community is committed
to ensuring that our state reduces its emissions by the required 15
percent by 2020.

Thank you for your leadership, and we look forward to working with
you in the future.