Air Board develops draft plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Cap and trade plan included
by Virginia Draper
In June the California Air Resources Board (CARB) released the Climate Change Draft Scoping Plan designed to implement AB 32, the greenhouse gas reduction law. Passed in 2006, AB 32 requires the State to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. This is about a 10% reduction from today's levels and a 30% reduction from business-as-usual levels projected for 2020.
Calling the draft plan "balanced and comprehensive," Bill Magavern, Sierra Club California's Director, noted that it includes many ideas presented by Sierra Club activists in May. For instance, the plan calls on utilities to produce a third of their energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal by 2020. The draft plan also requires more efficient cars and trucks.
Most of the reductions would be supervised under an ambitious cap and trade program that targets four sectors: electricity, transportation, industry, and natural gas. Due to launch in 2012, this program will be developed in conjunction with the Western Climate Initiative, comprised of seven states and three Canadian provinces, to create a regional carbon market.
The draft plan does not say how emissions allowances will be distributed. Mary Nichols, ARB Chair, says they are trying "to split the difference" —auctioning only a few allowances at first and giving away the rest, but auctioning more in future years. Sierra Club is opposed to giving away emission credits to polluters.
The Sierra Club and other environmental organizations (e.g., Union of Concerned Scientists, National Resources Defense Council, and Environment California) believe all allowances should be auctioned. They assert, "Allowances should be seen as a public asset, since they represent permission to use the atmosphere, which belongs to all of us, to dispose of pollution." Proceeds should be invested in highest-value solutions, such as increasing energy efficiency in homes, commercial buildings, and vehicles.
Other principles for a well-designed cap and trade program are in the Cap and Auction Position paper: sierraclubcalifornia.org/globalwarming.html.
The final draft will go to the Air Resources Board in November and be adopted in January. From 2009-2011 all measures will be vetted and analyzed, with full public input, as the plan moves through the regulatory process. For information about hearings and other ways to give input, see the California Air Resources Board web site: www.arb.ca.gov/cc/scopingplan/scopingplan.htm. Information on Sierra Club California's activities related to implementation of AB 32 is at sierraclubcalifornia.org.