09/26/2008 GAAS:666:08 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Print Version |
Gov. Schwarzenegger Continues Commitment to Building a Green Economy
Continuing his pledge to
grow a green economy, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced today that he has
signed AB
3018 by Speaker Emeritus Fabian Nuñez which creates a Green
Collar Jobs Council to develop a comprehensive approach to address California's emerging
workforce needs associated with its budding "green"
economy.
"The green-friendly
business climate we are building in California
continues to attract more clean-tech and green-tech companies to the state and
is ensuring that the job growth in this booming industry will happen in
California,"
Governor Schwarzenegger said. "The Green Collar Jobs Council established by this
legislation will capitalize on our state's clean-tech boom and help transform of
California's
workforce to meet the demands of an emerging green
economy."
AB 3018 establishes the
Green Collar Jobs Council as an intergovernmental partnership to perform
specified tasks related to addressing the workforce needs that accompany
California's
growing green economy in the following ways:
- Specifies that pursuant to the Council, the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Agency, in consultation with representatives from the Community College Chancellor's Office, University of California Board of Regents, State Department of Education, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of Public Affairs, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, California Environmental Protection Agency, as well as energy, alternative fuels, consumer, financial, labor, environmental justice and other groups will develop a comprehensive array of programs, strategies and resources to address the workforce needs that accompany California's growing green economy.
- Specifies that, among other things, the Council assist in developing and linking green collar job opportunities with workforce development training opportunities; creating public, private and nongovernmental partnerships to expand the state's workforce development programs, network and infrastructure; and establishing job training programs in the clean and green technology sectors.
California's environmental
policies are encouraging clean businesses from around the world to invest in
California.
According to the California Green
Innovation Index by Next10, a non-partisan research organization, California represents almost half of all green-tech
investment in the U.S.
Governor Schwarzenegger has led California in
establishing laws and policies to protect the
environment:
- In January 2007, the Governor announced the world's first Low Carbon Fuel Standard for transportation fuels that requires fuel providers to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels sold in California. This first-of-its-kind standard firmly establishes sustainable demand for lower-carbon fuels without favoring one fuel over another. To start, the standard will reduce the carbon intensity of California's passenger vehicle fuels by at least 10 percent by 2020 and more thereafter.
- In September 2006, the Governor signed the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, California's landmark bill that established a first-in-the-world comprehensive program of regulatory and market mechanisms to achieve real, quantifiable, cost-effective reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. The law will reduce carbon emissions in California to 1990 levels by the year 2020. Governor Schwarzenegger has also called for the state to reduce carbon emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050.
- In August 2006, the Governor signed his Million Solar Roofs Plan into law. Now known as the California Solar Initiative, it will provide 3,000 megawatts of additional clean energy and reduce the output of greenhouse gases by three million tons, equivalent to taking one million cars off the road. The $2.9 billion incentive plan for homeowners and building owners who install solar electric systems will lead to one million solar roofs in California by the year 2018.
