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Global Warming Solutions Act driving change

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, BUSINESSES FACE SWEEPING NEW RULES TO CUT EMISSIONS

NORTH BAY – Since the Global Warming Solutions Act known as AB32 became law in Sept. 2006, businesses and local governments have scrambled to find out what it means and how it will impact them over the next several years.

The California Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Resources Board is set to issue a formal plan outlining mandatory reporting rules and how emission reductions will be achieved by Jan. 1, 2009.

Meanwhile, the board has established a benchmark for greenhouse-gas emissions based on the 427 metric tons released in 1990, the year for determining the statewide cap by 2020. With 2007 emissions of 490 metric tons – projected to increase to 600 metric tons by 2020 – Californians must implement energy conservation methods to eliminate 173 metric tons a year, a 25 percent reduction.

Emission standards are in place for large entities, but protocols for small businesses, cities and counties now take the form of guidelines that will eventually become regulatory mandates and established market mechanisms involving legal penalties by January 2011.

However, on June 30, 2007, the Air Resources Board announced a discrete list of early action measures outlining rules that will become enforceable by January 2010. ARB also approved another early action list on Oct. 25 to reduce greenhouse gases within the trucking, ports, cement, semiconductor and consumer products industries.

“Now is the time for business owners and the public sector to make savvy investments to increase efficiency and reduce energy consumption,” said Stanley Young, spokesman for the board. “The ARB is in the middle of developing a Scoping Plan and a meeting will be held in Oakland on Jan. 16 to further this endeavor. The goal is to give local municipalities a lot of leeway. We know what works in large cities – greening the fleet, modifying trash trucks and reducing worker travel. Local communities should also be developing plans, taking emission inventories and establishing baselines.”

The board will introduce a carbon footprint calculator in mid-February to help businesses measure emissions based on vehicle miles driven, car pool savings and ways to estimate reductions based on plant modifications. It is also developing guidelines to help local municipalities calculate emissions. The League of Cities has issued a best practices guide. Web tools are also available, such as those posted by the California Climate Action Registry, to assist cities in measuring urban greenhouse gases, at www.climateregistry.org.

According to Wayne Goldberg, director of Advanced Planning and Public Policy with the City of Santa Rosa, Bay Area cities are updating the housing elements of their general plans, due June 9, but all of California’s 478 cities and 58 counties are stepping up efforts to revise general plans and EIRs to comply with AB32. “We will change our 20-year general plan to include ways to reduce global warming, but what works in Tiburon may not work in Santa Rosa.”

Ann Hancock is executive director of the Climate Protection Campaign, an organization developing a climate action plan for Sonoma County. It is also working with Marin and Napa counties, and recently hosted a regional conference in San Francisco. “Our emission reduction goal is more aggressive than the state’s and will roll out earlier. County governments conduct internal emissions fact-finding and we look at changes in the work force as well as global trade and economic issues.”

For Linda Jackson, principal long-range planner for the City of San Rafael, the process began last January with a meeting of mayors from seven North Bay cities and the development of a Climate Change Action Plan.

“We collaborate with the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives that established sustainability protocols to determine emissions based on vehicle miles driven, MPG calculations and other parameters. A Green Ribbon Committee that will include all constituencies in the city will be formed this spring to revise our 10 to 20 year plan. The goal is to reduce local emissions by 20 percent by 2015.”

Napa Valley Economic Development Corporation’s Bob Russell says that AB32 compliance is a joint effort among all five county cities.

“The Napa County Planning and Transportation Agency established an issues forum to focus on these concerns, comprised of representatives from each city. NCPTA received a grant from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District for a facilitator who will go city to city and assist in developing AB 32 plans,” he said.

“Another objective is to establish a clearinghouse that can be used by city governments and departments to share information. In November, the Gasser Foundation met with some 80 elected officials and staff members to further efforts to support the Sustainable Napa Valley Initiative. People are taking this very seriously,” Mr. Russell said.