BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 605
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Jerry Hill, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 605
AUTHOR: Lara and Pavley
AMENDED: August 18, 2014
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: August 25, 2014
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Rebecca Newhouse
SUBJECT : SHORT-LIVED CLIMATE POLLUTANTS
SUMMARY :
Existing law , under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of
2006 (CGWSA):
1) Requires the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to determine
the 1990 statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions level and
approve a statewide GHG emissions limit that is equivalent to
that level, to be achieved by 2020, and to adopt GHG emissions
reductions measures by regulation, and sets certain requirements
in adopting the regulations. ARB may include the use of
market-based mechanisms to comply with these regulations.
(Health and Safety Code §38500 et seq.).
2) Requires ARB to prepare and approve a Scoping Plan by January 1,
2009, for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and
cost-effective reductions in GHG emissions from sources or
categories of sources of GHGs by 2020. ARB must evaluate the
total potential costs and total potential economic and
noneconomic benefits of the plan for reducing GHGs to the
state's economy and public health, using the best economic
models, emissions estimation techniques, and other scientific
methods. The plan must be updated at least once every five
years. (§38561).
This bill, as approved by the Senate Environmental Quality
Committee on May 1, 2013 :
1) Requires ARB, when updating its AB 32 Scoping Plan, to:
a) Prioritize and emphasize measures and actions resulting
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in GHG emissions reductions that create jobs within the
state and reduce co-pollutants in regions of the state most
impacted by toxic and criteria air pollutants.
b) Prioritize and emphasize current regulations and
actions, and recommend additional measures and actions that
can be implemented beginning no later than December 31,
2015, to achieve the maximum, technologically feasible, and
cost-effective reductions in short-lived climate pollutants
with high global warming potentials.
c) Limit the use of offsets, to the maximum extent
feasible, to those offsets originating and achieved within
the state.
d) Include a plan that achieves the GHG emissions goals
established pursuant to AB 32 to be implemented in the
event any of ARB's regulatory measures are not projected to
result in the emissions reductions necessary to meet the
established goals.
e) Consider the use of special funds authorized to be
expended for the purposes of GHG emissions reductions.
2) Requires ARB to submit these Scoping Plan criteria to the
Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC). If, after 30 days
of receipt, JLBC has not made a finding on the submitted
elements, the updated Scoping Plan shall be deemed concurred.
3) Provides if ARB updates the Scoping Plan prior to January 1,
2014, ARB must revise the Scoping Plan to incorporate the
requirements established by this bill.
4) Defines "offset" to mean a quantified unit of GHG emission
that is reduced, avoided, or permanently sequestered in a
sector not regulated by a market-based compliance mechanism
adopted by ARB.
This bill, as it passed out of the Assembly on August 20, 2013
removes the provisions above relating to updating the Scoping
Plan and instead requires the ARB to develop and implement a
short-lived climate pollutant strategy. Specifically, the bill
does the following:
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1) Requires ARB to complete a short-lived climate pollutant
(SLCP) strategy by January 1, 2016.
2) States that the requirements of this bill are notwithstanding
the 2020 statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions limit
required by the California Global Warming Solutions Act of
2006 (also known as AB 32).
3) Requires ARB to:
a) Complete an inventory of sources and emissions of SLCPs
based on available data.
b) Identify research needs to identify any data gaps.
c) Identify existing and potential new control measures.
d) Prioritize the development of new measures that offer
co-benefits by improving water quality or reducing air
pollutants that impact community health and benefit
identified disadvantaged communities.
e) Coordinate with other state agencies and air districts
to develop and implement measures identified in the SLCP
strategy.
4) Requires ARB to consult with experts on SLCPs on specified
topics.
5) Requires ARB to hold at least one public workshop during
development of the SLCP strategy.
6) Defines "short-lived climate pollutant" as an agent that has a
relatively short lifetime in the atmosphere and a
climate-warming influence that is more potent than carbon
dioxide.
7) Provides that the bill does not affect the existing authority
of a state agency to adopt and implement rules and regulations
that result in the reduction of GHGs or SLCPs to the extent
authorized or required by existing law.
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COMMENTS :
1) Back on a 29.10 . SB 605 was amended in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee and subsequently referred back to
committee in accordance with Senate Rule 29.10. As passed by
the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, the bill required
the ARB to update the Scoping Plan, as specified. The
amendments to SB 605 in the Assembly differ from that version
of the bill by significantly expanding the scope of bill to
require ARB to develop a comprehensive short-lived climate
pollutant strategy and to implement that strategy.
2) Background . In 2006, AB 32 required the ARB to develop a
Scoping Plan that describes the approach California will take
to reduce GHG emissions to achieve the goal of reducing
emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The Scoping Plan was first
approved by the Board in 2008 and must be updated every five
years to evaluate the mix of AB 32 policies to ensure that
California is on track to achieve the 2020 GHG reductions
goal.
The 2008 Scoping Plan outlines a suite of measures aimed at
achieving 1990-level emissions of 427 million metric tons of
carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2e) in 2020, a reduction of
about 80 MMTCO2e from California's 2020 "business-as-usual"
GHG emissions projection. The emissions reductions measures
outlined in the plan include a cap-and-trade program, the low
carbon fuel standard (LCFS), light-duty vehicle GHG standards,
energy efficiency actions, the Renewable Portfolio Standard,
regional transportation-related GHG targets, as well as a
variety of other actions and programs recommended to achieve
the 2020 goal.
Updated Draft Scoping Plan . ARB released a draft of the
updated Scoping Plan October 2013, and on May 22, 2014, the
first update to the Scoping Plan was approved by the board.
The update asserts that California is on track to meet the
near-term 2020 greenhouse gas limit and is well positioned to
maintain and continue reductions beyond 2020 as required by
AB 32.
The updated Scoping Plan describes policies, actions, and
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strategies in the energy, transportation, fuels, agriculture,
waste, and natural lands sectors as a means to continue
emission reductions in each of these sectors. The draft also
emphasizes the need for California to establish a mid-term
statewide emission reduction target "informed by climate
science, to frame the additional suite of policy measures,
regulations, planning efforts, and investments in clean
technologies that are needed to continue driving down
emissions."
The updated Scoping Plan includes a summary of the recent
climate science, including short-lived climate pollutants.
Scientific research indicates that an increase in the global
average temperature of 2?C (3.6?F) above pre-industrial
levels, which is only 1.1?C (2.0?F) above present levels,
poses severe risks to natural systems and human health and
well-being.
However, even with 2?C stabilization, sea level rise of
several meters beyond 2100 is likely. To have a good chance
of avoiding temperatures above those levels, studies have
focused on a goal of stabilizing the concentration of
heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere at or below the 450
parts per million (ppm) CO2-equivalent.
In early May 2013, the Mauna Loa monitoring station located
at the top of Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano, recorded CO2 of 400
ppm (measured at 316 ppm when the station made its first
measurements in 1958).
Short-lived Climate Pollutants . The updated Scoping Plan notes
that ARB will develop a short-lived climate pollutant strategy
by 2015 that will include an inventory of sources and
emissions, the identification of additional research needs,
and a plan for developing necessary control measures. CO2
remains in the atmosphere for centuries, which makes it the
most critical greenhouse gas to reduce in order to limit
long-term climate change. However, climate pollutants
including methane, tropospheric ozone, hydrofluorocarbons
(HFCs), and soot (black carbon), are relatively short-lived
(anywhere from a few weeks to 15 years), but have much higher
global warming potentials than CO2.
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New research suggests that black carbon is the second largest
man-made contributor to global warming and its influence on
the climate has been greatly underestimated.
Another recent study published in the journal Nature Climate
Change found that reducing emissions of short-lived climate
pollutants, including soot and methane, by 30 to 60% by 2050
would slow the annual rate of sea level rise by about 18% by
2050. In addition, the study found that, compared to just
cutting CO2 emissions, reducing the release of short-lived
climate pollutants would do more to slow sea level rise before
2050, but that lowering CO2 emissions would be required to
limit warming and warming-related impacts beyond that point.
According to the updated Scoping Plan, the three short-lived
climate pollutants with the greatest implications for
California are the following:
a) Black carbon: Black carbon, a component of soot, also
known as PM 2.5, comes from diesel engines and incomplete
burning of carbon sources. Wildfires contribute almost 50%
of the total black carbon emissions in the state. In
addition to being a powerful global warming pollutant,
black carbon is associated with numerous negative health
impacts and is designated a potential human carcinogen.
Black carbon is not listed under AB 32 as a greenhouse gas
subject to AB 32 regulations. However, due to known health
and air quality impacts, ARB adopted truck and bus
regulations in 2008 to control diesel PM emissions. ARB
also administers the Carl Moyer Program, which provides
grants to fund "cleaner than required" engine upgrades or
retrofits that reduce PM 2.5 and other pollutants.
b) Methane: Methane (CH4) is the principal component of
natural gas and is also produced biologically under
anaerobic conditions in ruminants, landfills, and waste
handling. Atmospheric methane concentrations have been
increasing as a result of human activities related to
agriculture, fossil fuel extraction and distribution, and
waste generation and processing. Many emissions sources of
methane are unregulated (e.g. methane from dairy production
and fugitive methane emissions from landfills and natural
gas distribution) and recent scientific reports indicate
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that the US Environmental Protection Agency has
underestimated methane emissions by as much as 50%. ARB
staff plans to bring to the Board's consideration in late
2014 proposed regulations to reduce fugitive methane
emissions from storage tanks, well stimulation, pneumatic
devices, and leaking components.
c) Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC): HFCs are synthetic gases used
in refrigeration, air conditioning, insulation foams,
solvents, aerosol products, and fire protection. They are
primarily produced for use as substitutes for
ozone-depleting substances which are currently being
globally phased out. Currently, HFCs are a small fraction
of the total climate forcing (<1%), but their emissions are
growing relatively more rapidly than those of CO2.
ARB has implemented several measures to reduce HFC
emissions including low-global warming potential (GWP)
requirements for aerosol propellants, a deposit-return
recycling program for small cans of air conditioner
refrigerant and a refrigerant management program.
Under the cap-and-trade regulation, offsets may be used to
satisfy up to 8 percent of a covered entity's compliance
obligation. To date, ARB has adopted four protocols,
including a protocol on emission reductions associated with
destruction of ozone-depleting substances.
3) Scope of strategy . ARB currently has broad authority under AB
32 to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, including several
short-lived climate pollutants such as methane,
hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride.
AB 32 does not include the significant and potent climate
pollutants black carbon, or tropospheric ozone, as greenhouse
gasses under the Act.
Under AB 32, this broad authority becomes less clear after
2020, as the law specifies that the 2020 statewide GHG
emissions limit remains in effect unless amended or repealed.
The statute also expresses the Legislature's intent that the
2020 GHG limit continue in existence and be used to maintain
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and continue reductions in emissions of GHGs beyond 2020.
Therefore, it is not clear that the statute grants authority
to the ARB to continue emissions reductions, and measures
designed to achieve further emissions reductions beyond the
2020 GHG limit, after 2020.
SB 605 creates a new chapter in the code outside of AB 32 that
requires ARB, no later than January 1, 2016, to develop a
comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions of short-lived
climate pollutants in the state notwithstanding the 2020 GHG
emissions limit specified in AB 32. Therefore, the strategy
required by SB 605 to reduce short-lived climate pollutants is
not constrained by the AB 32 framework that potentially limits
ARB authority post 2020. In this way, the strategy may extend
well into post-2020 territory and plan for significant
reductions in short-lived climate pollutants beyond what is
required for the 2020 emissions reduction goal.
Additionally, SB 605 significantly broadens what would be
considered a short-lived climate pollutant (capturing black
carbon, tropospheric ozone and others), as compared to what is
included under AB 32, for the purposes of the short-lived
climate pollutant strategy and implementing the strategy
required by the bill.
4) Expansion of ARB authority ? SB 605 requires, that as part of
developing the comprehensive short-lived climate pollutant
strategy, that ARB "coordinate with other state agencies and
districts to develop and implement measures identified as part
of the comprehensive strategy." In this way, the bill sets up
a confusing framework, as the strategy must be completed no
later than January 1, 2016, and ARB in the development of the
strategy must already be implementing the strategy.
This requirement in the bill to implement measures identified
in the strategy to reduce short-lived climate pollutants is
arguably authority that ARB already has under AB 32, prior to
2020. However, because of the fact the strategy can go well
beyond the 2020 regime, it is unclear whether the bill expands
ARB's authority to implement GHG reduction measures post-2020.
The author states that SB 605 does not increase or decrease
the existing regulatory authority of ARB to regulate
short-lived climate pollutants, but merely binds them to a
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pre-2016 deadline to complete their strategy development, and
adds key legislative parameters to structure that process,
including requirements for interagency coordination, improved
emissions data, and public transparency.
The author may wish to clarify the language in the bill
regarding timing for implementing this strategy in clean-up
legislation next year, should this bill become law.
5) Support and Opposition . Supporters of the bill state that SB
605 would put a much needed priority on reducing short-lived
climate pollutants, which have been scientifically proven to
trigger short-term climate warming as well as have negative
public health impacts, particularly in low-income communities.
Opponents state that the bill will result in duplicative
regulations that will drive up cost with regard to
environmental or health benefits, and that SB 605 does not
include a requirement that emission reduction strategies
maximize cost-effectiveness and technological feasibility,
which is an important component needed to ensure that the
state gets the biggest bang for the buck when choosing to
create new regulations.
SOURCE : Senator Lara
SUPPORT : Coalition for Clean Air
Environmental Defense Fund
Natural Resources Defense Council
Sierra Club
OPPOSITION : Agricultural Energy Consumers Association
California Chamber of Commerce
California Cotton Ginners Association
California Cotton Growers Association
California Council for Environmental and Economic
Balance
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Independent Petroleum Association
California League of Food Processors
California Manufacturers and Technology
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Association
California Poultry Federation
Nisei Farmers League
Western Agricultural Processors Association
Western Growers Association
Western States Petroleum Association