BILL NUMBER: AB 2702	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Atkins

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2016

   An act relating to climate change.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2702, as introduced, Atkins. Climate change.
   The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air
Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and
regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The state board
is required to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit
equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to
be achieved by 2020 and to adopt rules and regulations in an open
public process to achieve the maximum, technologically feasible, and
cost-effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Existing law
establishes the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program,
which is administered by the Office of Planning and Research, to
coordinate regional and local efforts with state climate adaptation
strategies to adapt to the impacts of climate change, as specified.
Existing law requires the California Environmental Protection Agency
to update the state's climate adaptation strategy to identify
vulnerabilities to climate change.
   This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would continue the work with local governments,
state agencies, and others to meet the goals set forth in Governor
Brown's Under 2 MOU, which brings together subnational governments
willing to commit to either reducing the emissions of greenhouse
gases 80% to 95% below 1990 levels by 2050 or achieving a per capita
annual emissions target of less than 2 metric tons of carbon dioxide
equivalent by 2050.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (1) California has been a leader on climate change for more than a
decade through the enactment of landmark legislation such as the
California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Division 25.5
(commencing with Section 38500) of the Health and Safety Code) and
the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015 (Chapter 547 of
the Statutes of 2015) and through policies and practices that allow
for Californians to be innovators and early adapters for new
technologies like those related to renewable energy and clean fuels.
   (2) In May of 2015, Governor Brown, along with leaders from 11
other states and provinces from seven countries, entered into the
"Under 2 MOU" committing the signatories to either reducing the
emissions of greenhouse gases 80 to 95 percent below 1990 levels by
2050 or achieving a per capita annual emissions target of less than 2
metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2050.
   (3) As of January of 2016, a total of 127 jurisdictions
representing 27 countries and 6 continents have signed or endorsed
the Under 2 MOU.
   (4) In December of 2015, 195 counties from around the globe
adopted the Paris Agreement to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (FCCC/CP/2015/L.9/Rev.1) at the United
Nations Climate Conference (COP21) in Paris, France, signaling a
commitment to limit the effects of climate change and further
reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases.
   (5) California's leadership and vision on climate change helped
open the door to the historic Paris Agreement.
   (6) The achievements made in COP21, the Under 2 MOU, and recent
legislative efforts in California are by no means the end in the
state's effort to combat climate change. In California, we know the
serious damage climate change can cause to everything from our supply
of food and clean water to the health of the forests and from
neighborhood public safety to our national security. We need to
continue to work together to create and implement innovative policies
that move us forward in our efforts to address the impacts of
climate change.
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that
would continue the work with local governments, state agencies, and
others to meet the goals set forth in Governor Brown's Under 2 MOU,
which brings together subnational governments willing to commit to
either reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases 80 to 95 percent
below 1990 levels by 2050 or achieving a per capita annual emissions
target of less than 2 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by
2050.