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A.B. 32 makes reductions in greenhouse gas emissions mandatory,
giving force to the reduction targets issued last year by the governor.
The act’s objective is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
in the state to 1990 levels, or 25 percent of currently projected
levels, by 2020.
The provisions of the act will be implemented in stages. By 2008,
it requires the state Air Resources Board to establish basic greenhouse-gas
emissions levels based on the emission levels in 1990, against which
future emissions will be measured.
Beginning in 2010, the board will establish and enforce interim
emissions limits to progressively reduce emissions levels until
the 2020 cap is reached. The act gives teeth to its provisions by
requiring the board to enforce them and providing legal penalties.
Once thought by many to be merely a possible hazard, the reality
of human-induced global warming has long since been acknowledged
by the scientific community. The changes predicted by climate scientists
will likely have a catastrophic effect on California’s air
and water quality and put tremendous strain on its already stretched
energy supply. The impact on important industries such as agriculture
and forestry will also be severe.
In an analysis presented to fellow lawmakers, the authors of A.B.
32 list some of these predicted effects:
“...the degradation of air quality, the loss of mountain snowpack,
leading to serious water supply problems and risk of catastrophic
flooding, rising sea levels displacing thousands of coastal businesses
and residences, and severe damage to California’s marine ecosystems
and the natural environment.”
Forests are an important part of Earth’s carbon cycle. Trees
absorb atmospheric carbon as CO2 and store it until they rot or
are burned. Until the early 1900s deforestation was the dominant
source of increased CO2 in the atmosphere. Since that time, the
burning of fossil fuels has surpassed deforestation, but deforestation
alone is estimated to be responsible for 25 to 30 percent of the
greenhouse effect.
A frequent objection from industry groups to the regulation of greenhouse
gases has been that such regulations would stifle growth. But given
the severity of the effects on California, the nation and the world,
it is becoming obvious to more and more people that doing nothing
will be much more costly. In addition, the new technology that will
be required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions successfully will
lead to new jobs and a growing economy.
Some critics wonder how much one state can affect what is a problem
of global proportions. But California, with the world’s eighth
largest economy, is also its 12th largest contributor of greenhouse
gas emissions. By reducing its share of the greenhouse gas emissions
that are causing global warming, California can provide a legislative
model for other states to follow, and a practical example of how
a large economy can respond successfully to changing conditions.
National leadership on this issue lags well behind world opinion
and reality. The Bush administration has refused to sign the Kyoto
Protocol or take any meaningful steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
It is up to the states, then, to take the lead on this urgent issue.
The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 places California in the
forefront.
For more information on how climate change is worsened by deforestation,
and how it will impact California, visit Forests Forever’s
climate change web pages at:
http://www.forestsforever.org/climate1.html
WHAT
YOU CAN DO:
Write
to Gov. Schwarzenegger and thank him for signing A.B. 32 into
law.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 445-2841 (phone)
(916) 445-4633 (fax) |
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