California passes landmark global warming bill
After years of hard work, AB 32—the bill to cap California’s global warming emissions at 1990 levels by 2020—has been passed by the state legislature, and Governor Schwarzenegger has committed to sign the bill into law.
Thank you to everyone who helped pass the most comprehensive global warming policy in the country! From the scientists who explored how global warming could impact California, to the grassroots activists who convinced their legislators to vote for the bill, to business leaders and economists who educated policy makers about the economic benefits of reducing global warming emissions—it took a massive effort, but we did it!
With continued lack of climate action at the federal level, this new law marks a national turning point in the fight against global warming and shows the world that Americans recognize our responsibility to reduce global warming emissions and are finding ways to fight global warming at local and regional levels.
AB 32 sets in place the nation’s most comprehensive, economy-wide global warming emissions reduction program. The new law requires the state’s global warming emissions to be reduced to 1990 levels by 2020. This reduction will be accomplished through an enforceable statewide cap on all of the state's global warming emissions that will be phased in starting in 2012. The bill does include language on an “escape hatch” that reflects a compromise between the legislature and the governor. The language could be more tightly worded to use the escape hatch only in extreme conditions, but political accountability will make it hard for future governors to abuse the provision. We hope to narrow, if not close, this loophole through the regulatory implementation process.
The next step will be the regulatory process that will create a detailed plan for exactly how the emissions reductions will be made. UCS will be investing considerable time and resources in working with scientists, economists, state agency staff and officials, community members, and other key stakeholders to make sure that the implementation plans developed by the state most effectively achieve the needed reductions.
See a fact sheet on the bill, as passed, here (PDF).
Highlights of the AB 32 Campaign:
New Documentary Film and Global Warming House Parties
UCS worked with several scientists to produce a 15-minute documentary entitled "California on the Frontlines of Global Warming." The film premiered in a grassroots fashion on July 27, with UCS activists in 50 cities across California holding 72 screenings in their homes, churches, synagogues, libraries, and schools. After screening the film, party guests participated in a conference call with actor and activist Ed Begley Jr. and UCS California Director Jason Mark. Participants discussed the national and global leadership California is taking to curb global warming and the steps we can all take to support California's landmark climate policies. Nearly 2,000 guests attended the parties and signed up to take action in support of California's precedent-setting global warming bill—AB 32.
Fan Delivery at the Capitol
On August 22, days before the final vote on AB 32, UCS supporters delivered nearly 2,000 signed and decorated fans to legislators and the governor, after arranging them in the shape of a 30-foot tall "AB 32" on the capitol lawn. The fans read "This fan can keep you cool. We need AB 32 to help keep California cool! Vote for AB 32: Global Warming Solutions Act 2006."
Economists Sign-On Letter
Sixty of the state’s leading economists, including three Nobel laureates, signed a letter to Governor Schwarzenegger and state legislators, urging them to accelerate policies to reduce global warming emissions. “The most expensive thing we can do,” they wrote, “is nothing.”
