Message to Schwarzenegger From PPIC Poll: Don’t Mess With AB 32 on Global Warming

Schwarzenegger's blueprint was contained in amendments that the administration quietly offered to AB 32, the first-in-the-nation proposal to limit industry-produced greenhouse gases. The amendments, which ratcheted up the political tension over the issue, will not receive a hearing until lawmakers return after August 7. His proposal is the latest in a series of major changes to the oft-amended legislation, which is rapidly becoming one of the highest-profile bills of the 2005-06 session.

Núñez was skeptical. "It's like taking sandpaper and sanding down the teeth of the bill, and that speaks to what others have said about it," Núñez said.

Nunez has previously described this bill as the most important bill of the session and predicted it would encounter gargantuan opposition. For a history of the bill, the politics surrounding it, and Schwarzenegger’s sometimes estranged relationship with the commission he appointed and which recommended forceful action, see our article from April when AB 32 had many of its current features amended into it.

According to the PPIC poll, this issue can have a big impact in the race for Governor. Eighty-five percent of the voters most likely to vote say that the candidates’ positions on the environment will be at least somewhat important in determining their vote for governor, and 44 percent rate environmental positions as very important.

Overall, the survey – conducted just before the recent wave of record-setting temperatures – finds that energy and global warming have jumped to number two and three, respectively, on residents’ list of the most important environmental issues facing the state. Nearly half (49%) say global warming is a “very serious” threat to the state’s economy and quality of life; another 30 percent believe it is a “somewhat serious” threat. A sense of immediacy is evidently driving these fears: 63 percent of residents believe the effects of global warming are already underway – a six-point increase from a year ago.

Moreover, the vast majority of Californians (79%) believe it is necessary to take steps right away to counter the effects of global warming – up from 73 percent in July of 2003. Support for such unilateral action is up by 11 points (65% vs. 54%) since last year at this time and cuts across party lines: Democrats (73%), independents (70%), and Republicans (62%) all strongly support state action. This sense of urgency is no doubt fueled by lack of confidence in Washington’s response: Over half (54%) of Californians believe the federal government is on the wrong track when it comes to global warming; only 29 percent believe the feds are on the right track.

Susan Smartt, Executive Director of the California League of Conservation Voters, had this to say:

“It’s no surprise in a state where citizens routinely pay over $3 a gallon for gas and are threatened by rolling blackouts every time the mercury rises that support for alternative energy and deep concerns over climate change emerged from the poll. The question remains, will Governor Schwarzenegger and the Legislature listen to Californians statewide and pass the bills before them to wean us off of oil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide consumers with more energy efficient cars and homes.

It’s clear that global warming is the environmental challenge of our generation and our state and federal governments have a mandate from the people to take aggressive action to reduce our contributions to the problem.

This issue in important to a number of environmental groups in California and their eyes are on the langauge of the bill. “Clearly global warming is the issue of our time,” said Karen Douglas, Director of the California Climate Initiative of Environmental Defense. “AB 32 is the solution to the global warming threat. We must act now to pass the Global Warming Solutions Act – our health, our families, and our way of life depend on it.”

In San Francisco, and across the state, encouraged by Environment California, hundreds of citizens took a shot at fifteen seconds of fame as they petitioned Gov. Schwarzenegger via video camera to support AB 32, the nation’s strongest global warming bill in its current iteration. They have told supporters that “The governor, while supportive of action to address global warming, has yet to back legislation that would mandate a 25% cut in pollution by 2020 by empowering the state’s environmental agency to enforce what would be the nation’s first statewide regulation of global warming pollution.”

“California is especially vulnerable to the impacts of global warming and, fortunately, we can do something about it this summer,” said Andy Bemis, San Francisco campaign director for Environment California. “Today, Californians are petitioning the governor directly via video camera, asking him to make California a world-wide leader in stopping global warming by supporting AB 32.”

The video messages collected by Environment California in several cities around the state, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Cruz, San Jose, Concord and Sacramento, will be compiled, sent to the governor and posted on their site. In addition to these recorded messages to the governor, the group is also collecting 30,000 signed postcards to the governor in support of global warming action.

Look for the issue of global warming to heat up when the legislature returns to the not so cool Sacramento on August 7. Temperatures are already beginning to rise. This issue has penetrated to a level of public consciousness beyond the ranks of those who belong to environmental organizations, and those who are members will not let this bill be watered down.

More information about AB 32, "The Global Warming Solutions Act," and global warming impacts on California is available online at www.solutionsforglobalwarming.org.