BILL ANALYSIS AB 32 Page 1 Date of Hearing: February 28, 2005 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES Loni Hancock, Chair AB 32 (Pavley) - As Introduced: December 6, 2004 SUBJECT : Greenhouse Gas Emissions: California Climate Action Registry. SUMMARY : This bill expands the responsibilities of the California Climate Action Registry (Registry) by specifying the Registry work in coordination with the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal EPA) and the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (CEC) to adopt procedures and protocols on greenhouse gas emissions for specified industrial sectors. EXISTING LAW : 1)Establishes the Registry as a nonprofit public benefit corporation to voluntarily record and register greenhouse gas emissions reductions made by California entities after 1990. 2)Requires the Registry to provide referrals to approved providers for advice on designing programs to establish emissions baselines and to monitor and track greenhouse gas emissions, establishing emissions reduction goals, and designing and implementing organization-specific plans that improve energy efficiency or utilize renewable energy, or both, and that are capable of achieving emission reduction targets. 3)Requires the Registry to perform various functions, including among other things, adopting standards for verifying emissions reductions, adopting a list of approved auditors that verify emission reductions, establishing emissions reduction targets, designing and implementing efficiency improvement plans, maintaining a record of all emission baselines and reductions, and recognizing, publicizing, and promoting entities that participate in the Registry. 4)Requires the Registry adopt procedures and protocols for the various offsets that a participant can use to mitigate emissions. AB 32 Page 2 5)Requires the Registry adopt procedures and protocols for the monitoring, estimating, calculating, reporting, and certifying of carbon stores and carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the conservation and conservation-based management of native forest reservoirs in California, so that participants can include those conservation activities in registered emissions results. THIS BILL : 1)Requires the Registry, in coordination with Cal EPA and the CEC, to adopt procedures and protocols for monitoring, estimating, calculating, reporting and certifying greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects that improve energy efficiency, utilize renewable energy, and promote conservation tillage. 2)Requires the Registry adopt procedures and protocols for monitoring, estimating, calculating, reporting and certifying greenhouse gas emissions from the following sectors: a) Oil and natural gas exploration, extraction, processing, refining, transmission, and distribution. b) Cement production. c) Municipal solid waste and industrial waste hauling and disposal. 3)Strongly encourages Cal EPA and the CEC to partially fund the development of the Registry's protocols for greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects for the above projects and protocols, including assistance in finding resources for the development of industry specific protocols. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : Background California established the Registry in 2000 to encourage entities to start voluntarily reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide, and to register the savings under guidelines established by the Registry. The AB 32 Page 3 Registry establishes emissions baselines against which any future federal or state greenhouse gas emission reduction requirements may be applied. It encourages voluntary actions by Registry participants to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and record voluntary greenhouse gas emissions made after 1990. According to the author's office, on two different occasions (SB 527 (Sher) Chapter 769, Statutes of 2001 and SB 812 (Sher) Chapter 423, Statutes of 2002) the Legislature has passed laws to expand and clarify activities of the Registry. This bill is the next iteration of legislative direction to expand the work of the Registry to the oil and natural gas, cement production, and municipal solid and industrial waste industries by establishing additional procedures and protocols to support California's efforts to measure and monitor emissions from sources within its boundaries. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support Natural Resources Defense Council Opposition None on file Analysis Prepared by : Kyra Emanuels Ross / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092