California Says Yes To Tougher GHG Rules, Cap-and-Trade

December 13, 2008

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The California Air Resources Board voted unanimously to adopt the nation’s most sweeping plan to reduce GHG emissions. It is outlining for the first time a plan to implement the Global Warming Solutions Act, which mandates that the state cut emissions by a third, or to 1990 levels, by 2020.

An important component of the plan is a cap-and-trade program covering 85 percent of the state’s emissions. The program will be developed in conjunction with the Western Climate Initiative.

New York Times reported that the Environmental Law and Climate Change Law blog says some sectors, such as aircraft and airports, are missing from the plan’s reduction targets.

The Sacramento Bee reported that some economists say the plan underestimates the costs involved in transforming the state’s modes of transportation, its energy sources and its industries.

Reuters reported that Californian companies are concerned that rising electricity and other costs will put them out of business. California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce Legislative Affairs Chairman James Duran told Reuters that the plan “is an economic train wreck waiting to happen.”

In November, the air board announced its draft plan to tackle climate change. The plan includes allowing business to buy and sell emission credits and raising water fees to between $100 million and $500 million annually to name a few.

A poll conducted earlier this year found that the bill is popular until people learn how much it could end up costing them.

On the other hand, some environmentalists are disappointed with California’s proposed carbon plans, noting that regulators have yet to devise any structure for their proposed cap and trade program.

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Reader Comments

America’s Untapped Energy Resource: Boosting Efficiency – TIME This is one that needs to be pushed to the Obama group. This is what is going I believe make a big difference in our country, by creating work and stimulating the economy. This country still wastes too much energy. And what we waste, we buy, from where? Natural gas energy is hardly talked about except by Mr. Pickens. The problem with his program is he is not pushing natural gas energy savings either. 20% or more of all natural gas is blown up the chimney as HOT exhaust. It is wasted. This has to stop. Natural gas has always been the clean fuel, the cheap clean fuel. Why worry about how much of this fuel we are wasting. Guess what? Natural gas prices are starting to increase. If you company is wanting to reduce it’s greenhouse gas emissions, for every decatherm of energy recovered from these waste exhaust gases, 118 lbs of CO2 will not be emitted into the atmosphere.
Who uses natural gas? Food and beverage processors. Textiles. Pharmaceuticals and our chemical plants.Now lets heat our buildings. Schools, Universities, Hospitals, prisons ( but maybe there we should turn the heat off) shopping centers, where we work, hotels and resorts. Natural gas heats the buildings, it heats the domestic or process water, it makes steam for industry, it heats the university or hotel swimming pool. Natural gas is an essential fuel that we really should not waste. The technology of “condensing flue gas heat recovery” is designed to recover most of that waste energy before it is lost into the atmosphere. But we have to teach people how to use it efficiently.
If this country could increase it’s natural gas energy efficiency by 5, 10, 15, 20%, how many more years of natural gas would we have left in the ground for our grandchildren and great, great grandchildren to have available to keep them comfortable?
I look forward to your reply

Sid | January 9th, 2009