SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California on Thursday adopted the nation’s most sweeping plan to cut greenhouse-gas emissions, issuing rules that could transform everything from the way factories operate to the appliances people buy and the fuel they put in their cars.
The Air Resources Board unanimously approved the plan despite warnings that it will put costly burdens on businesses at a time when the economy is in extreme crisis, with California forecasting a staggering budget gap of $41.8 billion through mid-2010.
Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he thinks the regulations will spur the state’s economy and serve as a model for the rest of the country.
“When you look at today’s depressed economy, green tech is one of the few bright spots out there, which is yet another reason we should move forward on our environmental goals,” Schwarzenegger said.
The strategy relies on 31 new rules affecting all facets of life, including where people may build their homes and what materials they use to do it.
One central piece is a cap-and-trade program, set to begin in 2012, under which power plants, refineries and big factories will be able to buy and sell the right to emit heat-trapping gases. The program could give plant operators a financial incentive to reduce carbon emissions.
Air regulators said the average Californian could see more fuel-efficient cars and plug-in hybrids on showroom floors; better public transportation; housing nearer to schools and businesses; and utility rebates to make homes more energy-efficient.
But there will also be costs: Cars could become more expensive, and Californians can expect higher electric rates as utilities increase their use of renewable energy. Homes built with energy-efficient materials could prove more costly, as could gasoline reformulated to release less carbon dioxide.
The rules spell out in broad terms how the state intends to carry out a landmark 2006 California law that made the state a leader in confronting climate change. The law requires the state to cut greenhouse emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. More detailed rules will be issued over the next few years.
Key points
Some of California’s strategies:
Industry
• Impose an emissions cap on utilities, refineries and other large industrial sources of greenhouse gases.
• Allow those large polluters to gradually lower emissions by participating in a cap-and-trade market.
Transportation
• Put into effect a 2002 state law requiring automakers to produce cleaner vehicles.
• Require fuel companies to reformulate fuels so they are a combined 10 percent less carbon-intensive by 2020.
• Give local governments incentives to curb urban sprawl and reduce how far people drive to work or school.
• Require cargo and cruise ships to turn off their engines while docked.
Energy
• Require utilities to generate one-third of their electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar and geothermal by 2020.
• Strengthen energy-efficiency standards for appliances, as well as for existing and new buildings.
The Associated Press
