TALLAHASEE–Wednesday night, in the final days of
California’s legislative session, Governor Schwarzenegger and the State
Legislature reached an agreement on California’s historic global warming bill,
The Global Warming Solutions Act, AB32 (Nunez/Pavley). Once passed, the bill
will make California the first state in the nation to
fight global warming by capping carbon dioxide and other emissions and mandating
emission reductions from the state’s largest stationary
sources.
“We congratulate our colleagues at Environment
California and their allies for their hard work on this issue,” said Holly Binns
of Environment Florida. “Given the absence of action on this issue in Washington
D.C, it is critical that the states take matters into their own hands. Now
Florida’s leaders can follow California’s example and take action here in Florida.”
At a press conference on Wednesday, California Assembly
Speaker Fabian Nunez and Senate Pro Tem Don Perata, announced that the bill
would pass the Legislature by the end of session. At the same time, Governor
Schwarzenegger issued a statement announcing that he would sign the bill when it
reaches his desk. A few hours later, the bill passed the California State
Senate by a vote of 23-14. It is scheduled for a final vote today in the
Assembly and is expected to pass.
The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 will do the
following:
· Set the nation’s first state-wide cap on global
warming pollution setting the target of lowering emissions 25% by 2020 (a return
to 1990 emission levels);
· Establish a mandatory reporting program for all
major sources of pollution at the California Air Resources Board
(CARB);
· Require CARB to adopt regulations for large
polluters that could begin as early as 2009 and no later than 2012. The
regulations may include both command and control regulatory measures as well as
a cap and trade program; and
·
Give CARB the authority to enforce the regulations and
go beyond the minimum reduction goals.
“As we’ve seen time and again, the states are the real
leaders when it comes to ground-breaking environmental policy,” said Bernadette
Del Chiaro, Environment California’s lead advocate on the bill. “Now that we
have taken this historic step here in California, we are really hoping leaders in
other states will join us in solving global warming one state at a
time.”
