subject: California Carbon Emission Legislation Takes Form [print this page] Controversial it may be, but California carbon emission legislation has just taken a quantum leap forward with a raft of regulations adopted on January 1. According to AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, the state board adopted regulations on that day to implement a list of discrete early action greenhouse gas emission reduction measures.
In order to achieve optimum direction which are cost-effective GHG reduction methods, the California Air Resource Board implemented a scoping plan which is scheduled to include measurement by 2020. A 25% reduction, as measured against the baseline year of 1990, is targeted.
Controversial it may be, but California carbon emission legislation has just taken a quantum leap forward with a raft of regulations adopted on January 1. According to AB 32, the so-called Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, the state board adopted regulations on that day to implement a list of discrete early action greenhouse gas emission reduction measures.
When the California carbon emission legislation was first passed in 2006 it became the nation's first economy wide cap on global warming emissions. As California is the most highly populated state in the US, it will have much to lose should there be no action taken to address issues on climate change. If there would be initiatives taken, the California Climate Change Center deliberately showed that California will be suffering from poorer air quality, occurrence of increased extreme heat, bigger wildfires which occur more often and extreme drought.
Also known as AB 32, the California carbon emission legislation passed State legislature as it bears high potential for the environment and could also boost the economy of California. Apparently, the new legislation's emissions limits would help boost up the state's economy to as much as $74 billion and could potentially generate employment to approximately 17 to 89,000 workers.
California is the sixth largest global economy and any action taken here is sure to reverberate around the world. California has always taken a lead among the US states in implementing climate-relevant regulations which focus primarily on large industries.
The concept behind California carbon emission legislation as tabled under AB-32 is to cap all greenhouse gas emissions from major industries and to include penalties for noncompliance. Enterprises within the borders of California will have to take time to carefully understand the legislation to get its organization ready to comply, as this is a market-based approached centered on the 'cap and trade' system.
The scoping plan for attaining curtailment targets for GHG emissions through 2020 was approved by the California Air Resource Board. Those organizations that take advantage of "early action" emission reduction measures must now be active. All affected organizations must realize that the market-based cap and trade system is likely to go into effect at the end of next year.
As the Democratic majority in the Senate is thinning out in 2010, the more stringent laws which address climate issues would seem to be less too. Although it is expected that there will be a renewed advocacy in implementing the cap and trade system in the entire nation after the elections during the midterm.
