Press release

AB 32 Cosponsor Says CARB Draft Implementation Plan Needs More Recommendations to Cut Land Use, Transportation Emissions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                   
Tim O’Connor, (916) 549-8423-c, toconnor@edf.org           
Jennifer Witherspoon, (415) 378-1985-c, jwitherspoon@edf.org
 
(Diamond Bar, CA – July 8, 2008)  The draft scoping plan by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to implement The Global Warming Solution Act (AB 32) “will need to further develop recommendations on changing the way land use and transportation decisions are made,” according to testimony today by an AB 32 cosponsor at the first public workshop on the draft scoping plan. 
 
“The scoping plan should be modified to hold regional and local governments accountable to their reduction targets; infrastructure funding should be required to reduce greenhouse gases rather than perpetuating the cycles of sprawl and road building; and measures like the indirect source rule that reduce air pollution caused by new development must be implemented,” testified Tim O’Connor, an attorney for the California Climate Initiative at Environmental Defense Fund. “Measures that hold great potential for reducing vehicle use and ensure diversity and reliability in mass transit deserve in-depth analysis, recognition of their proven benefits, and development into required measures.” 
 
The Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32) is the first statewide effort to cap greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors of California’s economy. It requires the state by 2020 to cut greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming to 1990 levels – 169 million metric tons – the equivalent of taking 28 million cars off the road.
 
“Put another way, California must reduce emissions by an amount greater than the entire inventory of the state of Missouri, the 15th largest greenhouse gas emitter of the 50 states,” concluded O’Connor. “Developing a cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gases in California and the western United States region will be a pillar that enables California to achieve rapid cost-effective reductions from multiple areas of the economy. We look forward to working with CARB to create a complete package of measures to reduce emissions from all areas of the economy and give the rest of the nation and the world a model to follow.” 
 
A recent poll commissioned by the non-partisan nonprofit research organization Next 10 and conducted by Fairbanks, Maslin, Maullin & Associates shows nearly three out of four voters (73 percent) support state energy policies to reduce global warming pollution. Despite the weak economy, nearly six out of 10 voters (58 percent) support these energy policies even if they result in higher prices.
 

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