California Air Resource Board issues Climate Change Draft Scoping Plan

6/26/2008

The California Air Resource Board issued a Climate Change Draft Scoping Plan which outlines specific steps towards reduction of carbon emissions and to address the issue of climate change.  This Plan is called for in the Climate Change legislation passed in 2006.

The key themes of the Plan include:

· More robust energy efficiency programs, building, and appliance standards;

· Increasing the Renewable Portfolio Standard to 33 percent;

· Development of a state carbon emission cap-and-trade program ties to the Western Climate initiative and policies to encourage "partner" programs to create a regional carbon emission credit and offset market system;

· Robust execution of existing state programs, including California's clean car standards, goods movement programs, and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard; and,

· Targeted fees to fund the State's long-term commitment to the 2006 legislation.

Note that the Plan also calls for full implementation of the California Clean Car law.  Significantly, the plan also will implement a Low Carbon Fuel Standard which will require oil companies to make cleaner domestically produced fuels. 

The plan will be available for public comments until November when it is presented to the Board for consideration.  It is anticipated that the regulatory process will take approximately two years.