Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration is expected this month to release a plan to combat global warming that recommends raising petroleum prices and requiring industries to report, for the first time, their greenhouse gas emissions.It was a little less than a month ago that the California PUC very quietly issued a draft decision announcing their intent to develop a load-based cap on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Apparently, Schwarzenegger's plan would require other industrial facilities, like cement makers and oil refineries, to report their emissions as well.
The increase in gas prices would fund research into alternative fuels.
Nine months ago, Schwarzenegger garnered international headlines by calling for California to mount an aggressive effort to address global warming. Now he faces the difficult part: shepherding new policies into place that could affect every car owner, farmer and big industry in the state.
The proposal, drafted by the governor's senior environmental advisers, has both business groups and clean-air advocates girding for a fight in Sacramento that could have profound national environmental and political implications. With President Bush reluctant to steer federal policy toward lowering greenhouse gas emissions, states and cities have taken the lead on what most environmentalists agree is the most critical issue facing the planet.
"What you're considering in California is much broader than anything being discussed in other states -- it's very significant,'' said Ned Helme, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Clean Air Policy, a nonprofit environmental think tank.
More later, if warranted.
UPDATE: Just picked up the latest edition of Energy Daily, and today's top story is that yesterday the California PUC approved that draft decision we referenced earlier. Looks like things are picking up.
Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Power, Environment, Energy, Politics, Technology, Economics, California, GHG
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