BILL ANALYSIS
AB 32
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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
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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
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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