BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator Wieckowski, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 1386
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|Author: |Wolk |
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|Version: |3/28/2016 |Hearing |4/6/2016 |
| | |Date: | |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Dan Brumbaugh |
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SUBJECT: Resource conservation: working and natural lands
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (also
known as AB 32), requires the Air Resources Board (ARB) to (a)
inventory greenhouse gases (GHGs), (b) determine the 1990
statewide GHG emissions level, (c) approve a statewide GHG
emissions limit equivalent to that level to be achieved by
2020, (d) implement regulations that achieve the maximum
technologically feasible and cost-effective reduction of GHG
emissions, and (e) authorizes ARB to include market-based
compliance mechanisms, including a cap-and-trade program, in
the AB 32 regulations after considering the potential for
direct, indirect, and cumulative emission impacts from these
mechanisms. (Health and Safety Code, §38500 et seq.)
2) Under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Investment Plan and
Communities Revitalization Act, establishes the Greenhouse Gas
Reduction Fund (GGRF) for proceeds from the cap-and-trade
program and authorizes moneys from the GGRF for, among several
explicit investment options, "funding to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions associated with water use and supply, land and
natural resource conservation and management, forestry, and
sustainable agriculture." (HSC §39712 (c)(3)).
This bill:
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1) Declares it to be the policy of the state that the protection
and management of natural and working lands, as defined, is a
key strategy in meeting the state's greenhouse gas reduction
goals;
2) Would require all relevant state agencies, departments, boards,
and commissions to consider this policy when revising,
adopting, or establishing policies, regulations, expenditures,
or grant criteria relating to the protection and management of
natural and working lands.
Background
1)Emissions reductions. Over the last decade, California has
built on its history of policies to conserve energy and reduce
air pollution to initiate an effort to reduce its greenhouse gas
emissions to lessen the negative impacts of climate change.
Governor Schwarzenegger's Executive Order S-3-05 specified GHG
emissions reduction targets of 2000 levels by 2010, 1990 levels
by 2020, and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. In 2015,
Governor Brown issued Executive Order B-30-15 that established
an additional intermediate emissions reduction target of 40
percent below 1990 levels by 2030.
Because natural and working lands store ("sequester") carbon
from the atmosphere in above- and below-ground plant matter,
this sequestration contributes to net reductions of carbon
emissions. In addition, active sequestration via the biosphere
and through various technological means will ultimately be
necessary to go beyond reducing the addition of GHGs to actually
eliminating carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere.
The protection and management of natural and working lands has
been recognized as an important part of California's climate
initiative in reports by both the current and past
administrations. An example of official recognition of the
importance of natural carbon sequestration includes the state's
2008 Climate Change Scoping Plan: A Framework for Change:
California's forests will play an even greater role in
reducing carbon emissions for the 2050 greenhouse gas
emissions reduction goals. Forests are unique in that
planting trees today will maximize their sequestration
SB 1386 (Wolk) Page 3 of
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capacity in 20 to 50 years. As a result, near-term
investments in activities such as planting trees will help us
reach our 2020 target, but will also play a greater role in
reaching our 2050 goals. (p 64)
Future land use decisions will play a role in reaching our
greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals for all sectors.
Loss of forest land to development increases greenhouse gas
emissions levels because less carbon is sequestered.
Avoiding or mitigating such conversions will support efforts
to meet the 2020 goal. (p 65)
Increasing carbon sequestration, including on working
rangelands, hardwood and riparian woodland reforestation,
also hold potential as a greenhouse gas strategies. As we
evaluate the role that this sector can play in California's
emissions reduction efforts, we will explore the feasibility
of developing sound quantification protocols so that these
and other related strategies may be employed in the future.
(p 67)
Although the carbon sequestration function of natural and
working lands is prone to be variable across geographies and
time, a growing body of scientific research is quantifying the
range of carbon sequestration values across natural and working
lands in California and elsewhere.
2)Investment of cap-and-trade proceeds. Proceeds from the
cap-and-trade program are available for appropriations from the
GGRF, with legislative direction for those appropriations
provided by AB 1532 (J. Pérez, Chapter 807, Statutes of 2012),
SB 535 (de León, Chapter 830, Statutes of 2012, and SB 1018
(Budget & Fiscal Review, Chapter 39, Statutes of 2012). SB 1018
requires the Department of Finance to regularly update a
three-year investment plan that identifies feasible and
cost-effective GHG emission reduction investments to be funded
from the cap-and-trade auction proceeds. SB 535 requires
minimum percentages of spending for emissions-reducing projects
that are specifically located in and otherwise benefit
disadvantaged communities.
Based on the Governor's proposals, the Legislature has
authorized continuous appropriations from the GGRF for a number
of larger infrastructure and smart growth initiatives. Other
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proposed appropriations from the GGRF have been decided within
the annual budget setting process. Approximately 11 percent (or
$345 million out of $3,090 million) of the Governor's total
proposed GGRF expenditures for 2016-17 appear to be directed
towards managing natural and working lands, as defined in this
bill.
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|Investment |Department |Program |Amount|
|Category | | |* |
|---------------+------------------+----------------+------|
|Short-lived |Departments of |Climate Smart | 55|
|Climate |Food and |Agriculture - | |
|Pollutants |Agriculture |Healthy Soils | |
| | |and Dairy | |
| | |Digesters | |
|---------------+------------------+----------------+------|
|Safeguarding |Departments of |Water & Energy | 30|
|California / |Food and |Efficiency | |
|Water Action |Agriculture & | | |
|Plan |Water Resources | | |
|---------------+------------------+----------------+------|
| |Department of |Wetlands and | 60|
| |Fish and Wildlife |Watershed | |
| | |Restoration / | |
| | |CalEcoRestore | |
|---------------+------------------+----------------+------|
|Safeguarding |Cal Fire |Healthy Forests | 150|
|California / | | | |
|Carbon | | | |
|Sequestration | | | |
|---------------+------------------+----------------+------|
| | |Urban Forestry | 30|
|---------------+------------------+----------------+------|
| |Natural Resources |Urban Greening | 20|
| |Agency | | |
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|TOTAL (* in millions of dollars) | |345 |
| | | |
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Comments
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1) Purpose of Bill. According to the author, "The Governor
identified protection and management of natural and working
lands as a significant part of his strategy to reach the
state's 2030 emissions target, as these lands can sequester
significant amounts of carbon.
"The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection,
California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California
Department of Food and Agriculture, California Strategic Growth
Council, and other state bodies have programs in place to
reduce GHG emissions and undertake carbon sequestration on
natural and working lands using GGRF dollars.
"SB 1386 codifies as state policy the Governor's strategy to
protect and manage natural and working lands as a key part of
the efforts to achieve our climate change goals. The bill also
requires that all relevant state agencies consider this policy
when revising, adopting, or establishing policies, regulations,
expenditures, and grant criteria relating to the protection and
management of natural and working lands.
"Not only will SB 1386 support future investment in carbon
sequestration projects on California's natural and working
lands, it will, at the same time, provide other important
public benefits for all communities including the protection
and enhancement of wildlife habitat, parks, greenways, and open
space; recreational and economic opportunities; production of
food and fiber; improvement of air and water quality; and flood
protection."
2) Is the bill needed? As mentioned above, some explicit
statutory recognition of the value of natural and working lands
for GHG reductions already exists within AB 1532. In addition,
both Executive Orders S-03-05 and B-30-15 direct the major
relevant agencies to meet the state's GHG emission reduction
targets, and the latter Executive Order also states that
"natural infrastructure solutions should be prioritized." SB
1386 would therefore follow these policy precedents to
strengthen the statutory basis for attention to the role of
protecting and managing natural and working lands in reducing
GHG emissions.
Practically, to the extent that the relevant agencies involved
SB 1386 (Wolk) Page 6 of
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in the protection and management of natural and working lands
are already interested in being considered for funding through
GGRF, they are already thinking of the ways that their programs
support the state's GHG reduction goals. This raises the
question of what the bill, in its current form, is likely to
achieve that is not already occurring.
To the extent that the bill establishes special consideration
of the natural and working land sectors for GGRF moneys, the
bill may become a precedent for other emissions-reducing
sectors to similarly seek general statutory recognition for
their importance. Rather than prioritizing funding across
sectors in such a generic way, however, the Legislature may
find that prioritization is more effective after actual
evaluation of specific detailed project proposals for their
effectiveness in reducing GHG emissions and achieving other
benefits.
3) Suggested amendments.
a) The first two provisions of SB 1386 state the importance
of natural and working lands in meeting the state's emission
goals through the sequestration of atmospheric carbon, and
note the significant non-emissions reduction benefits (often
referred to as "co-benefits") potentially achievable via the
protection and management of natural and working lands.
As both §9001.5 (a) and (b) are intended to provide
justification for the actionable provisions of the bill,
amendments are needed to move those provisions into an
uncodified section of the bill as findings and declarations,
and clarify the rationale for the bill's requirements.
b) Section 9001.5 (c) requires relevant state agencies to
consider natural and working lands as a key strategy in
meeting the state's GHG emission reduction goals when
revising, adopting, or establishing policies, regulations,
expenditures, and grant criteria relating to the protection
and management of natural and working lands.
Although various practices can have significant benefits in
terms of GHG emissions reductions, the ability of natural
and working lands to contribute to GHG emissions goals will
depend on the specific details and characteristics of
SB 1386 (Wolk) Page 7 of
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individual projects. Additionally, although not called out
for consideration by relevant agencies in SB 1386,
protection and management of natural and working lands can
have significant benefits in terms of adaptation and
resiliency to climate change impacts. In fact, as increased
GHG emissions reductions and resiliency to climate change
impacts are both essential to an effective climate change
strategy, agencies should take a holistic approach to the
evaluation of mitigation and adaptation benefits for
proposed actions.
In practice, the reach of the bill will likely depend on how
the "relevant" agencies, departments, boards, and
commissions are identified, and how they choose to "consider
the policy" in developing their regulations, budgeting,
defining of grant criteria, and other decision making.
Additionally, the word consider is vague, and the
requirement in SB 1386 would not necessarily require
agencies to provide a more thorough evaluation or analysis.
Instead of simply considering natural and working lands as a
key strategy in meeting the state's GHG emissions, an
amendment is needed to specify that relevant agencies,
departments, boards, and commissions must analyze the
effects on climate change mitigation and adaptation, when
revising, adopting, or establishing polices, regulation,
expenditures, or grant criteria relating to the protection
and management of natural and working lands.
SOURCE: Defenders of Wildlife
SUPPORT:
Audubon California
California Climate & Agriculture Network
California ReLeaf
California State Parks Foundation
California Tahoe Alliance
Environment California
Lutheran Office of Public Policy - California
Mono Lake Committee
Pacific Forest Trust
Save the Redwoods League
Sierra Club California
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The Nature Conservancy
The Trust for Public Land
OPPOSITION:
None received
ARGUMENTS IN
SUPPORT:
Supporters note how Governor Brown highlighted in his 2015
inaugural address the management of natural and working lands as a
key strategy to reduce GHG emissions, but would like to better
codify recognition of this sector's importance within the larger
climate change mitigation enterprise. Despite the existence
within many departments and other state entities of many carbon
sequestration programs using natural and working lands and funded
by GGRF, supporters worry that such policies may not last beyond
the current Administration.
Statutory codification will also make it easier to achieve future
investments in the protection and management of natural and
working lands, which in turn will deliver both GHG reductions as
well as multiple other benefits.
ARGUMENTS IN
OPPOSITION: None
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