New California Global Warming Plan Lights the Way to a Greener Economy--Oil Companies Must Not Be Allowed to Block Progress

By Bill Magavern
Director
Sierra Club California

California’s Air Resources Board today released its draft plan for bringing the state’s global warming pollution down to the level required by the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, AB 32.

This balanced and comprehensive draft plan starts California down the path to a greener economy. But it comes with a challenge: Big oil companies already have begun a campaign to block the clean-energy transition as they count their windfall profits and push for new drilling off our beautiful coast.

They’re in the dark. A strong majority of Californians support the major measures in this plan because they know we can save money on energy while reducing the pollutants that harm human health and warm the planet.

We urge Governor Schwarzenegger and the Legislature to reject the attempt by big polluters and Senate Republicans to roll back California’s landmark global warming law. Instead of looking backward, our government should move forward to meet not only the AB 32 requirement (returning to 1990 emission levels by 2020), but also the governor’s goal of an 80 percent reduction by 2050. We cannot afford to give in to the voices of obstruction and delay.

Today’s draft has the potential to be the premier greenhouse gas reduction effort in the country, with a 33 percent clean-energy standard to drive innovation, energy efficiency measures to keep dollars at home, and clean-vehicle requirements to reduce toxic air pollution. Still, it can become stronger. As the Air Board fills out and finalizes the plan, we’d like to see more measures that reduce vehicle miles traveled, accelerate production of zero-emission vehicles, preserve farmland and boost recycling rates.

The Air Board’s draft plan also considers the trading of greenhouse gases. If California does join a regional carbon market, it should require all big polluters to pay for their emissions, and should enforce strict limits on any emissions offsets. Also, ARB must analyze the impacts of any market system on the air quality of our most polluted communities. Finally, emissions fees should be analyzed along with carbon markets, as the draft proposes.

With this draft plan, the Air Board demonstrates again that California is taking real actions to fight pollution that causes global warming, even while the Bush Administration fails to act.

Comments

Posted by: Bryan at June 26, 2008 01:50 PM

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