California considers tough greenhouse restrictions

Times of India , Friday, December 12, 2008
Correspondent : AP
SACRAMENTO, California: California air regulators meet Thursday to consider the most sweeping plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, one that will transform how people travel, utilities generate power and businesses use electricity.

California's plan also relies on creating the broadest market yet in carbon-credit trading in a bid to give the state's worst polluters cheaper ways to cut the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases they produce.

The restrictions being considered this week by the California Air Resources Board represent the first time the state has committed to a plan to implement a landmark 2006 law that has made it a global leader in combating climate change. Advocates hope the framework will become a model for the US and other countries.

"It is a major milestone in California's effort to deal with global climate change," Air Resources Board chairwoman Mary Nichols said. "We will be adopting a plan that will serve as a template not only for California but other states and the national government."

If adopted, the plan will set clear strategies for how America's most populous state plans to cut emissions at a time many governments around the world are struggling with a financial crisis that threatens to undermine efforts to fight climate change.

California's commitment coincides with the final days of a United Nations conference in Poland during which negotiators are working on an international global warming treaty to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The U.S. delegation sent by President George Bush reiterated its long-held opposition to targeted reductions.

But President-elect Barack Obama has struck a different tone. Last month, Obama delivered a video message to a climate conference in Beverly Hills and pledged to reclaim a leading role for the United States in UN negotiations next year. He wants to establish California's targets to reduce emissions for the entire country.

The 2006 law mandates that California cut emissions by a third, or to 1990 levels, by 2020.

The strategy chosen by air regulators will create 31 new regulations affecting all facets of life, from what fuels Californians put in their vehicles to what kind of air conditioners businesses put in their buildings.

The average Californian, for example, can expect to pay to have their car tires inflated during oil changes and should expect to pay higher power bills as utilities try to increase their use of renewable energy.

They also could see more fuel efficient cars at dealerships, better public transportation, housing near schools and businesses, and utility rebates to equip their homes to be more energy efficient.

New fees and reporting requirements will accompany the emission rules.

Finding the right ways to implement California's target has not been without controversy.

Republicans, small businesses and major industries that will be forced to change their operations beginning in 2012 say jobs could be lost, companies might leave the state and energy prices will skyrocket.

The air board's background work has been criticized in reviews by California's nonpartisan legislative analyst and independent scientists, with both groups saying the costs to the state could be greater than projected.

Once all the measures are in force, the air board projects the cost to the state at $25 billion in 2020, but said they will be more than offset by the savings, which it estimates at $40 billion that year.

The state's global warming plan touches virtually every sector of the economy, primarily by changing the fuels that California uses to power its vehicles and generate electricity. It also encourages forest preservation and plans to capture methane gas at landfills. Supporters of the law also hope it will make California a leader in green technology, attracting investments and jobs.

The plan being considered this week by the Air Resources Board will create the framework for implementing specific aspects of the law in the years ahead. Most of the reductions in California's emissions will come from more detailed regulations that will be written over the next few years, including rules governing a cap-and-trade program that launches in 2012 to help the largest polluters achieve emission cuts.

 
SOURCE : Friday, 12 December 2008
 


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