BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 32
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Date of Hearing: July 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
SB
32 (Pavley) - As Amended June 1, 2015
SENATE VOTE: 24-15
SUBJECT: California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006:
emissions limit.
SUMMARY: Requires the Air Resources Board (ARB) to approve
statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions limits equivalent to
40% below the 1990 level by 2030 and 80% below the 1990 level by
2050.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires ARB, pursuant to California Global Warming Solutions
Act of 2006 (AB 32), to adopt a statewide GHG emissions limit
equivalent to the 1990 level by 2020 and adopt regulations to
achieve maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective
GHG emission reductions.
2)Authorizes ARB to permit the use of market-based compliance
mechanisms, applicable from January 1, 2012 to December 31,
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2020, to comply with GHG reduction regulations, once specified
conditions are met. Pursuant to this authority, ARB has
adopted a cap-and-trade regulation which applies to large
industrial facilities and electricity generators emitting more
than 25,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent per year, as well as
distributors of fuels, including gasoline, diesel and natural
gas.
THIS BILL:
1)Requires ARB to approve, based on the best available
scientific, technological, and economic assessments, the
following statewide limits on GHG emissions, including
short-lived climate pollutants:
a) 40% below the 1990 level by 2030.
b) 80% below the 1990 level by 2050.
2)Authorizes ARB to approve an interim GHG emissions target to
be achieved by 2040.
3)States the intent of the Legislature for the Legislature and
appropriate agencies to adopt complementary policies that
ensure the long-term emissions reductions adopted pursuant to
the 2030 and 2050 limits advance all of the following:
a) Job growth and local economic benefits in
California.
b) Public health benefits for California residents,
particularly in disadvantaged communities.
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c) Innovation in technology and energy, water, and
resource management practices.
d) Regional and international collaboration to adopt
similar GHG emissions reduction policies.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, minor and absorbable costs to the Cost of
Implementation Account to ARB to set the 2050 target and unknown
annual costs, at least in the hundreds of millions of dollars,
from various special funds for additional programs to achieve
the required emission reductions.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. The 5th assessment report from the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) notes that
atmospheric concentrations of global warming pollutants have
risen to levels unseen in the past 800,000 years. Carbon
dioxide concentrations have increased by 40% since
pre-industrial times. There is broad scientific consensus
that these global GHG emission increases are leading to higher
air and water temperatures as well as rising sea levels. Sea
level is expected to rise 17 to 66 inches by 2100, and the
frequency of extreme events such as heat waves, wildfires,
floods, and droughts is expected to increase.
Pursuant to AB 32, ARB approved the first Scoping Plan in
2008. The Scoping Plan outlined a suite of measures aimed at
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achieving 1990-level emissions, a reduction of 80 million
metric tons of CO2 (MMT CO2e). Average emission data in the
Scoping Plan reveal that transportation accounts for almost
40% of statewide GHG emissions, and electricity and commercial
and residential energy sector account for over 30% of
statewide GHG emissions. The industrial sector, including
refineries, oil and gas production, cement plants, and food
processors, was shown to contribute 20% of California's total
GHG emissions.
The 2008 Scoping Plan recommended that reducing GHG emissions
from the wide variety of sources that make up the state's
emissions profile could best be accomplished through a
cap-and-trade program along with a mix of other strategies
including a low carbon fuel standard (LCFS), light-duty
vehicle GHG standards, expanding and strengthening existing
energy efficiency programs, and building and appliance
standards, a 33% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), and
regional transportation-related GHG targets. Pursuant to
authority under AB 32, the ARB adopted a Low Carbon Fuel
Standard in 2009, and a cap-and-trade program, approved on
December 13, 2011.
ARB approved an update to the Scoping Plan on May 22, 2014.
The update describes policies, actions, and strategies in the
energy, transportation, fuels, agriculture, waste, and natural
lands sectors as a means to continue emissions reductions in
each of these sectors. The update also asserts that California
is on track to meet the near-term 2020 GHG limit and is well
positioned to maintain and continue reductions beyond 2020 as
required by AB 32.
CO2 remains in the atmosphere for centuries, which makes it
the most critical GHG to reduce in order to limit long-term
climate change. However, climate pollutants including
methane, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and soot (black carbon),
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are relatively short-lived (anywhere from a few weeks to 15
years), but have much higher global warming potentials than
CO2. New research suggests that aggressively reducing these
short-lived climate pollutants in the short-term, compared to
only cutting CO2 emissions, can do more to slow sea level rise
and other climate change impacts in the near-term. SB 605
(Lara, Chapter 523, Statutes of 2014) requires the ARB to
complete a comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions of
short-lived climate pollutants by January 1, 2016.
2)Executive Orders. In 2005, Governor Schwarzenegger issued
Executive Order S-3-05 and called for GHG emissions reductions
to 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.
On April 29, 2015, Governor Brown issued Executive Order
B-30-15, which established an interim statewide GHG emission
reduction target to reduce GHG emissions to 40% below 1990
levels by 2030, "in order to ensure California meets its
target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent
below 1990 levels by 2050." The EO also directed all state
agencies with jurisdiction over sources of GHG emissions to
implement measures, pursuant to statutory authority, to
achieve reductions of GHG emissions to meet the 2030 and 2050
GHG emissions reductions targets.
3)Author's statement:
SB 32 sets an enforceable greenhouse gas reduction target
of 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, the level
identified by the international scientific community as
necessary to stave off the worst effects of climate change
on California's health and safety. The target is guided by
science, but this bill provides the flexibility inherent in
the existing AB 32 framework to adjust pathways to the goal
along the way based on changing technological and economic
conditions, and ongoing evaluations of policy efficacy.
The legislation also identifies goals to ensure that
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greenhouse gas reductions advance job creation; public
health improvement, especially in disadvantaged
communities; innovation; and policy collaboration beyond
our borders.
To ensure that the state accomplishes our 2050 target
through the most cost-effective pathway, SB 32 incorporates
the Governor's midterm target of reducing climate pollution
to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.
By simply amending the existing AB 32 framework without any
major mechanical changes to the regulatory implementation
process, SB32 ensures that the policy tools currently being
utilized to achieve the existing 2020 greenhouse gas target
remain available for the achievement of targets beyond 2020
- including, but not limited to, energy efficiency
requirements for buildings and appliances, tailpipe
emissions standards for mobile sources, power sector
renewable portfolio and emissions performance standards,
sustainable land use policies, fuel-related emissions
standards, and market based mechanisms - to maximize the
effectiveness of our climate policies overall.
4)What about-cap and-trade? In addition to requiring ARB to
approve 2030 and 2050 statewide GHG emissions limits, this
bill makes conforming changes to other sections of AB 32 that
refer to the 2020 limit to reflect the commitment to continue
the AB 32 program beyond 2020. However, the bill does not
extend the "market-based compliance mechanism" provision,
under which ARB has adopted a cap-and-trade regulation
applicable through 2020. The cap-and-trade regulation is a
key element in the regulatory program to achieve the 2020
limit and, through the auction of emissions allowances,
produces revenues that are invested in programs to produce
additional GHG emission reductions.
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5)When will the 2030 and 2050 limits be adopted? Unlike AB 32,
which required ARB to approve the 2020 limit one year after
the bill was enacted, this bill provides no deadline for ARB
to approve the 2030 and 2050 limits. Because the 1990 level
has already been determined by ARB and this bill prescribes
the reduction percentages, there is little question about what
the limits will be. The main question is when will ARB
approve them?
6)Where will the emission reductions come from? The author and
the committee may wish to consider amending this bill to
require ARB to report annually regarding the amounts, sources
and locations of GHG reductions achieved toward the statewide
limits.
7)Related legislation. AB 1288 (Atkins), which is pending in
the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, eliminates the
December 31, 2020 limit on applicability of a market-based
compliance mechanism under AB 32.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
350 Bay Area
350 Sacramento
Access to Independence
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Added Edge
Advanced Energy Economy (AEE)
African American Farmers
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, California
American College of Physicians, California Service Chapter
American Farmland Trust
American Heart Association
American Lung Association in California
American Stroke Association
Annie's
Apricus
Asthma Coalition of Log Angeles County
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Audubon California
Autodesk
Azul
Bagito
Bay Area Air Quality Management District
Baz Allergy, Asthma & Sinus Center
Berkeley City Council
Big Sur Land Trust
Biodico Sustainable Biorefineries
Bioenergy Association of California
Biosynthetic Technologies
Blue Sky Biochar
Bonnie J. Adario Lung Cancer Foundation
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Breathe California
Building Doctors
Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy
C&C Development Co.
CALSTART
California Bicycle Coalition
California Biodiesel Alliance
California Black Health Network
California Catholic Conference
California Climate and Agriculture Network
California Conference of Directors of Environmental Health
California Energy Efficiency Industry Council
California Energy Storage Alliance
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California Equity Leaders Network
California Green Business Network
California Interfaith Power & Light
California League of Conservation Voters
California Municipal Utilities Association
California Nurses Association
Californians Against Waste
California Pan Ethnic Health Network
California Public Health Association
California Ski Industry Association
California Thoracic Society
California Transit Association
California Voices for Progress
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California Wind Energy Association
CalTrout
Catholic Charities, Diocese of Stockton
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Climate Change and Health
Center for Climate Change and Health; Public Health Institute
Center for Climate Protection
Central California Asthma Collaborative
Ceres
ChargePoint
Circulate San Diego
City and County of San Francisco
City Heights Community Development Corporation
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City of Agoura Hills, Mayor Weber
City of Calabasas, Mayor, Lucy Martin
City of Lancaster, Mayor, Rex Parris
City of Oxnard
City of Santa Rosa
City of Santa Monica, Mayor, Kevin McKeown
City of Simi Valley, Mayor Huber
City of Thousand Oaks
City of West Hollywood, Mayor Horvath
Clean Power Campaign
Clean Power Finance
Clean Tech San Diego
Clean Water Action
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Cleveland National Forest Foundation
Climate Action Reserve
Climate Parents
Climate Ready Solutions
Climate Resolve
Coalition for Clean Air
Coastal Environmental Right Foundation
Communitas Financial Planning
Communications Workers of America, District 9, AFL-CIO
Consumers Union
County of Los Angeles, Public Health
County of Los Angeles, Supervisor Kuehl
County of Los Angeles, Supervisor Ridley-Thomas
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County of Los Angeles, Supervisor Solis
County of Santa Barbara, Board of Supervisors
Covanta
Dignity Health
Distance Learning Consulting
Doctors for Climate Change
Eagle Creek
eBay
Ecogate
Endangered Habitats League
Environment California
Environmental Defense Action Fund (EDAF)
Environmental Defense Fund
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Environmental Entrepreneurs
EtaGen
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Friends of the River
Gap, Inc.
Grand Boulevard Initiative
Greenbelt Alliance
Green Education, Inc.
Harvest Power California
Health Care Without Harm
Health Officers Association of California
House Kombucha
Humane Society of the United States
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Klean Kanteen
Land Trust of Santa Cruz County
Large Scale Solar Association
League of Women Voters of California
League of Women Voters of Orange Coast
Levy Strauss & Co.
Liberty Hill Foundation
Los Angeles Business Council
MAAC
Marin Agricultural Land Trust
Marin Clean Energy
Medical Advocates for Healthy Air
Mercury Press International
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Moms Clean Air Force
Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority
Move LA
National Parks Conservation Association
Natural Resources Defense Council
Nature Conservancy
Nextgen Climate
North Face, The
Pacific Forest Trust
Patagonia, Inc.
Patagonia Works
Peninsula Open Space Trust
Physicians for Social Responsibility, Los Angeles
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Physicians for Social Responsibility, San Francisco
Planning and Conservation League
Power2Sustain
Progressive Asset Management
Puma Springs Vineyards
Public Health Institute
Purple Wine & Spirits
Quest
RC Cubed
Regional Asthma Management and Prevention
Releaf
San Diego 350
San Diego Housing Federation
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San Francisco Asthma Task Force
Santa Clara County Medical Society
Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority
Santa Clarita Organization for Planning and the Environment
Sequoia Riverlands Trust
Sidel Systems USA
Sierra Business Council
Sierra Club
Silicon Valley Leadership Group
SmartWool
Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District
Sonoma County Asthma Coalition
Sonoma County Water Agency
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South Coast Air Quality Management District
Southern California Public Power Authority
Southwest Wetlands
StopWaste
Sustainable North Bay
Symantec Corporation
Tamalpais Nature Works
TransForm
TreePeople
Trust for Public Lands
U.S. Green Building Council, California
Union of Concerned Scientists
United States Representative, Adam Schiff
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United States Senator, Barbara Boxer
Ventura County Board of Supervisors
Voices for Progress
Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation
Waterplanet Alliance
West Marin Environmental Action Committee
31 individuals
Opposition
African American Farmers of California
Agricultural Council of California
American Alliance Authority & Compliance
American Alliance Drug Testing
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American Forest and Paper Association
American Wood Council
Associated Builders and Contractors of California
Building Owners and Managers Association
Brea Chamber of Commerce
California Agricultural Aircraft Association
California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers
California Building Industry Association
California Business Properties Association
California Cattlemen's Association
California Chamber of Commerce
California Concrete Pumpers Alliance
California Construction Trucking Association
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California Cotton Ginners Association
California Cotton Growers Association
California Dairies Inc.
California Farm Bureau Association
California Fresh Fruit Association
California Independent Oil Marketers Association
California Independent Petroleum Association
California League of Food Processors
California Manufacturers & Technology Association
California Taxpayers Association
California Trucking Association
Camarillo Chamber of Commerce
Chambers of Commerce Alliance of Ventura and Santa Barbara
Counties
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Coalition of American Latino Truckers
Family Business Association
Fullerton Chamber of Commerce
Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce
Greater Fresno Chamber of Commerce
Heavy-Haul Conference
Inland Empire Economic Partnership
International Council of Shopping Centers
Irvine Chamber of Commerce
Kern County Board of Supervisors
Los Angeles County Business Federation
NAIOP - Commercial Real Estate Development Association
National Federation of Independent Business
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National Hmong American Farmers
Nisei Farmers League
Orange County Business Council
Oxnard Chamber of Commerce
Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce
Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce
San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce
Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Bureau
Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce
South Bay Association of Chambers of Commerce
Southwest California Legislative Council
Torrance Chamber of Commerce
Valley Industry and Commerce Association
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Western Agricultural Processors Association
Western Growers Association
Western Plant Health Association
Western States Petroleum Association
Western Trucking Alliance
Analysis Prepared by:Lawrence Lingbloom / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092