California

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Planning and Measurement

State Advisory Board

Status: Completed

Details: Passed by the California Senate on May 29, 2008, S.B. 1760 would continue the Climate Action Team, the special task force formed to develop a strategy for the state to meet the greenhouse gas emission-reduction goals Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) established in Executive Order S-3-05. The House Appropriations Committee approved the bill on August 8, 2008.
Governor Schwarzenegger signed Executive Order S-3-05 on June 1, 2005, which created a Climate Action Team.

Regional Initiatives

Status: Completed

Details: In October 2007, California was a signatory to the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) along with two other states and mulitple countries that supporters say confronts head-on the growth of GHG emissions. The goal of the new partnership is to foster information-sharing among countries and states facing climate change.
Under a memorandum of understanding signed May 30, 2007, California and Ontario agreed to work together to reduce emissions of GHGs. The deal, signed by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, calls for the two governments to collaborate to explore potential linkages between regional market-based mechanisms, promote innovation technology, develop a "Low Carbon Fuel Standard" for transportation fuels and explore energy efficiency programs and policies.
Member of the Western Climate Initiative. On February 26, 2007, the Governors of five western states established the Western Climate Initiative, committing to establish an overall regional goal to reduce GHG emissions within 6 months, develop a design for a regional market-based multi-sector mechanism within 18 months to achieve the regional goal, and participate in a multi-state GHG registry. The WCI unveiled its draft greenhouse gas reduction strategy on July 23, 2008. A final version of the plan is due in September 2008, and each state and province will then be left to adopt the recommendations.
In November 2004, the Governors of Washington, Oregon, and California approved the West Coast Governors' Global Warming Initiative, a series of recommendations to reduce global warming pollution, covering GHG fleet standards, appliance standards, building codes, renewable energy targets.

GHG Inventory

Status: Completed

Details: The California Air Resources Board updated CA's GHG inventory in May 2009 and will update the inventory every year.

Climate Change Action Plan

Status: Completed/Further Work In Progress

Details: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) released a draft plan on June 26, 2008, setting a road map to reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent over the next 12 years. Central to the Climate Change Draft Scoping Plan is a cap-and-trade program for major emitters that will cover 85 percent of the state's emissions. The plan proposes that utilities produce one third of their energy from renewable energy resources while expanding and strengthening their energy efficiency programs. The draft plan also calls for full implementation of the California Clean Car law and the state's Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
On April 3, 2006, the California Climate Action Team (at the direction of Governor Schwarzenegger) completed the Climate Change Action Plan. In addition, the Governors of Washington, Oregon, and California have approved a series of recommendations for action to combat global warming, and directed their staffs to continue working on state and regional goals and strategies to combat global warming.

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Targets and Caps

Lead by Example Target

Status: No Activity Identified

Statewide GHG Target

Status: Completed

Details: On August 22, 2007, a coalition of eight Western states and two Canadian provinces - the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) - announced that they set a regional goal of reducing GHG emissions 15% below 2005 levels by 2020 to fight global warming. California became a member of the WCI partnership in February 2007. On June 1, 2005, Governor Schwarzenegger announced GHG emission reduction targets for California and charged the California Environmental Protection Agency with the coordination of the oversight of efforts to achieve them (Executive Order S-3-05). The reductions targets are: 2000 levels by 2010; 1990 levels by 2020; and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. AB 32 formalized the second target (1990 levels by 2020).

Statewide GHG Cap

Status: Completed/Further Work In Progress

Details: On February 26, 2007, the Governors of five western states established the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative, committing to establish an overall regional goal to reduce GHG emissions within 6 months and to design a regional market-based multi-sector mechanism within 18 months to achieve the regional goal. AB 32 (California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006) was signed into law on September 27, 2006. The bill requires GHG emission reductions to 1990 levels by 2020 and tasks the California Air Resource Board (CARB) with adopting regulations to require the reporting and verification of statewide GHG emissions and monitoring and enforcing compliance with this program. The bill authorizes, but does not require, the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. CARB's reporting regulations are available for public comment until June 5, 2008. Its determination of baseline statewide GHG emissions is also available. The emission regulations will become effective January 1, 2012.

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Reporting

Electricity Disclosure

Status: No Activity Identified

Details: As a result of Senate Bill 1305 (1997), California's energy suppliers must disclose to all customers the energy resource mix used in generation. Providers must use a standard label created by the California Energy Commission (CEC), and this information must be provided to end-use customers at least four times per year. In addition, energy suppliers must submit an annual report to the CEC detailing the specifics of the purchasing and selling of energy. Considered no action because there are no requirements to convert resource mix data into CO2 emissions.

http://www.energy.ca.gov/sb1305/

GHG Registry

Status: Completed/Further Work In Progress

Details: California is a member of the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), which is considering various options for establishing a GHG registry and reporting system that will require some facilities and sectors to report (and reduce) their GHG emissions. The WCI unveiled its draft greenhouse gas reduction strategy on July 23, 2008. A final version of the plan is due in September 2008, and each state and province will then be left to adopt the recommendations.
Member of The Climate Registry - a collaboration aimed at developing and managing a common GHG emissions reporting system across states, provinces, and tribes. It will provide an accurate, complete, consistent, transparent, and verified set of GHG emissions data from reporting entities, supported by a robust accounting and verification infrastructure. Members released a final General Reporting Protocol in May 2008. The Climate Registry plans to start accepting data in summer 2008.
The California Climate Action Registry was established by SB1771. Technical changes were made to the statute in SB527. SB 527 was signed by Governor Gray Davis on October 13, 2001, finalizing the structure for the Registry. AB 32 contains a provision on mandatory GHG reporting that will have implications for the Registry. Under AB 32, entities that voluntarily participated in the Registry prior to December 31, 2006, and have developed a GHG emission reporting program, will not be required to significantly alter their reporting or verification program.

Mandatory GHG Reporting

Status: Completed/Further Work Proposed

Details: On December 6, 2007, the Air Resources Board (ARB) approved a regulation for the mandatory reporting of GHG emissions from major sources, pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32). As of July 2008, a revised version of the mandatory reporting regulation that incorproates some public comments is available. The Air Resources Board will prepare a Final Statement of Reasons addressing all comments receieved in Summer 2008.
California is a member of the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), which is considering various options for establishing a GHG reporting system that will require some facilities and sectors to report (and reduce) their GHG emissions. The WCI unveiled its draft greenhouse gas reduction strategy on July 23, 2008. A final version of the plan is due in September 2008, and each state and province will then be left to adopt the recommendations.

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Power Sector

CO₂ Offset Requirements

Status: No Activity Identified

GHG Performance Standard

Status: Completed

Details: On May 23, 2007, the California Energy Commission (CEC) approved regulations that limit the purchase of electricity from power plants that fail to meet strict GHG emissions standards. These regulations, as part of SB 1368, which became law on August 31, 2006, prohibit the state's publicly owned utilities from entering into long-term financial commitments with plants that exceed 1,100 pounds of CO2 per megawatt-hour. To reduce GHG emissions, SB 1368 directed the CEC, in collaboration with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California Air Resources Board, to establish a GHG emission performance standard for power plants. This standard was reached by evaluating existing combined-cycle natural gas base-load power plants across the West and is the same CO2 measurement approved by the CPUC. On February 16, 2006, the CPUC announced it would develop a cap on GHG emissions for the state's investor-owned utilities (IOUs). The CPUC held workshops in summer 2006 to consider the design of an interim GHG emissions performance standard (EPS) program (Phase I) intended to serve as a near-term bridge to the load-based GHG cap (Phase II) adopted by the Commission in D.06-02-032.

Advanced Coal Technology

Status: No Activity Identified

Power Sector GHG Cap and Trade

Status: In Progress

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Transportation Sector

GHG Auto Standards

Status: In Progress

Details: On May 21, 2008, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee narrowly approved a bill to overturn U.S. EPA's rejection of California's petition for a waiver to regulate greenhouse gases. S. 2555 would grant the waiver by amending the Clean Air Act, effectively vacating EPA's December denial of California's petition.
On January 2, 2008, California filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. EPA's denial of the state's effort to regulate GHG emissions from motor vehicles. On December 19, 2007, EPA rejected California's petition for a Clean Air Act waiver, which is required for the state to implement a vehicle emissions standard tougher than the federal one. The proposed auto standard, which the California Air Resources Board approved on September 24, 2004, calls for a reduction of GHG emissions from new vehicles of 22% by 2012 and of 30% by 2016. Nineteen other states have either adopted or pledged to implement California's proposed tailpipe emissions rule.
California adopted its zero-emission vehicle mandate in 1990, which required that 10% of new cars sold in the state by the country's six leading auto manufacturers be emissions-free by 2003. The rules have been modified four times since they were introduced. A 2003 revision set a new goal of putting at least 25,000 zero-emissions cars on the road in California by 2014, far below the original 10% mandate. A modification adopted on March 27, 2008, calls for 7,500 zero-emissions vehicles nationwide by 2014, a 70% reduction from the 2003 target.

Low Carbon Fuel Standard

Status: In Progress

Details: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) released a draft plan on June 26, 2008, setting a road map to reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions by 30% over the next 12 years. The draft plan calls for full implementation of the state's Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
Governor Schwarzenegger announced in January, 2007 Executive Order S-01-07, establishing a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) for transportation fuels sold in California that will support AB 32 emissions targets as part of California's overall strategy to fight global warming. By 2020 the standard will reduce the carbon intensity of California's passenger vehicle fuels by at least 10%. The LCFS requires fuel providers to ensure that the mix of fuel they sell into the California market meets, on average, a declining standard for GHG emissions measured in CO2-equivalent gram per unit of fuel energy sold. The LCFS will use market-based compliance mechanisms (e.g., credit banking and trading). The executive order directs the Secretary for Environmental Protection to coordinate the actions of the California Energy Commission (CEC), the California Air Resources Board (ARB), the University of California, and other agencies to develop the protocols for measuring the "life-cycle carbon intensity" of transportation fuels. This analysis will become part of the State Implementation Plan for alternative fuels as required by AB 1007 (Pavley, Chapter 371, 2005) and will be submitted to the California Air Resources Board for consideration as an "early action" item under AB 32.
On August 2, 2007, the University of California released a report recommending that California's proposed low-carbon fuel standard apply to all gasoline and diesel transportation fuels and include a credit trading scheme.

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