California would become the first state to impose a limit on all greenhouse gas emissions, including those from industrial plants, under a landmark deal reached Wednesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative Democrats.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California would become the first state to impose a limit on all greenhouse gas emissions, including those from industrial plants, under a landmark deal reached Wednesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative Democrats.
The agreement marks a clear break with the Bush administration and puts California on a path to reducing its emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by an estimated 25 percent by 2020.
The bill still needs lawmakers' approval, but that appears likely, given that Democrats control the Legislature.
The deal gives Schwarzenegger a key environmental victory as he seeks re-election this fall.
"The success of our system will be an example for other states and nations to follow as the fight against climate change continues," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
The bill would require the state's major industries -- such as utility plants, oil and gas refineries, and cement kilns -- to reduce their emissions of the pollutants widely believed to contribute to global warming.
A key mechanism driving the reductions would be a market program allowing businesses to buy, sell and trade emission credits with other companies.
The agreement came after weeks of negotiations and was announced by the governor's office and Democratic leaders in the Senate and Assembly. The bill is expected to be sent quickly to the Senate floor.
The bill was praised by environmentalists as a step toward fighting global climate change but criticized by some business leaders, who say it would increase their costs and force them to scale back their California operations.
Republicans in the Legislature say climate change should be addressed at the national level, not on a state-by-state basis.
"Adopting costly and unattainable regulations will drive businesses and jobs out of California into other states and even into other countries with no commitment to improve air quality," said Assembly Republican leader George Plescia, a LaJolla Republican.
Schwarzenegger and the Legislature's Democratic leadership have embraced a cap on vehicle and industry emissions as a way to make California a trendsetter in fighting global warming.
The nation's most populous state is the world's 12th-largest emitter of greenhouse gases and could suffer dire consequences if global temperatures increase only a few degrees. Reports by state agencies indicate that a 2- to 3-degree rise in temperature could melt the Sierra Nevada snowpack earlier each year, leading to flooding in the Central Valley and threatening the state's long-term water supply for cities and farms.
The two sides overcame obstacles including election-year politics to make the deal happens, said Sen. Don Perata, an Oakland Democrat and the chamber's president pro tem.
"This is not anecdotal legislation; this is rooted in fact," he said at a news conference. "The facts are if we do not do something to stop carbon emissions in this world, we will see a diminution in the quality of life."
Schwarzenegger had insisted that the California Air Resources Board, which will oversee the program, be required to implement the market-based strategy. The agreement does not make the system mandatory, as the governor wanted, but it does strengthen the Democrats' original language to make it easier for the air board to implement such a system.
Schwarzenegger has tried to position himself as a leader in the fight against global warming. Last year, he issued an executive order calling for the state to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 2000 levels by 2010, 1990 levels by 2020 and to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
He organized a team that recommended a statewide cap and last month signed an accord with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in which California and Britain will work together to research cleaner-burning fuels and technologies.
During the negotiations over the California cap, Schwarzenegger sought to appease his supporters in the business community by arguing for safeguards for the industries that would be most affected.
Administration officials have spent weeks seeking assurances that any legislation would require a market program similar to those in the European Union. The idea would allow businesses to buy, sell or trade emission credits with other companies instead of making their own reductions if those cuts were considered too costly or technology difficult.
Such a program could help industries that may not be able to meet their targets through energy efficiency practices or the use of alternative fuels.
The negotiated bill included a provision allowing the governor to push the cap deadline back by one year "in the event of extraordinary circumstances, catastrophic events or threat of significant economic harm."
Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez said he hoped industry representatives would be "much more comfortable" with the bill once they had a chance to read it.
Source: Associated Press
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