Dori Borrelli

September 12, 2006

On August 30, 2006, California's political leaders agreed to impose the most stringent controls on carbon dioxide emissions in the country. This legislation has been referred to as the Global Warming Solutions Act (Act), or Assembly Bill 32. The deal was struck between the state's Democratic-controlled legislature and Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, almost instantly positioning the governor as a national leader in the movement to decrease the threats of global warming. This bill will make California the first state in the country to fight global warming by placing caps on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

The Act initiates a 25% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2020. It can also place controls on some of the largest industries, such as utility companies, oil refineries, and cement plants. The first major controls will begin in 2012, with the goal of reducing emissions to their 1990 levels. The bill sets out a two-year time frame, until 2009, to establish how the system will operate. It then allows industry three years, until 2012, to start their cutbacks. The California Air Resources Board has the lead authority for deciding how much industry groups contribute to global warming, for assigning emission targets, and for creating non-compliance penalties.

The deal was strongly opposed by Republican and business leaders statewide, for fear that businesses and industry will leave the state as a result of the strict controls. This will not only harm the economy of California, but will also be counterproductive to the goals of the legislation itself because manufacturers will likely relocate in places with few controls, taking their greenhouse gases with them and potentially increasing emissions. California's Chamber of Commerce has been at the head of this opposition. In addition, the Bush administration and Congress have consistently rejected efforts to place national controls on carbon dioxide emissions. Environmentalists were not fully satisfied with this legislation either, as they hoped for more stringent regulations and controls.

Regardless of this tension, the long-term hope and goal of this legislation is that it will accelerate efforts to curb global warming, and that California can set an example for other states and countries.

For more information, please see the following websites:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/31/washington/31warming.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&th&emc=th

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-fi-arm31aug31,0,2776597.story?page=1&coll=la-home-headlines

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/31/WARMING.TMP

http://www.grist.org/news/muck/2006/06/23/cal_race/index.html?source=daily