10/15/2008 GAAS:720:08 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Print Version |
Gov. Schwarzenegger Applauds California’s Proposed Plan to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger today issued the following statement on the California Air
Resources Board's (CARB) release of its proposed plan to reduce California's greenhouse
gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020:
"Despite a difficult economy, it is important that we move
forward on our environmental goals, which is why I am pleased that in California we have put
together a plan for reducing our greenhouse gas emissions that also boosts our
economy. Conservative estimates show that implementing our plan to combat
global warming will result in tens of thousands more jobs and a boost to
California's gross domestic production-all while creating a healthier
environment and increasing our energy efficiency. We are putting together a
roadmap for the rest of the nation to follow-and our nation should follow California's lead in
putting together a national plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the
lowest cost and to create jobs in the emerging clean-technology and
green-technology job sectors."
Last month, CARB released an economic
analysis that compared the costs of doing nothing with the costs of
implementing AB 32, California's
first-in-the-nation law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It showed that California's law will
boost the state's economy by $27 billion and create 100,000 new jobs. CARB also
issued a report on the public health impacts which demonstrated that by 2020,
with cleaner air, we will have 300 fewer premature deaths and 9,000 fewer
incidences of asthma and lower respiratory symptoms and 53,000 fewer lost work
days.
Governor Schwarzenegger has led California in establishing laws and policies
to protect the environment while growing the economy:
- Last month, the Governor signed SB 375 by Senator Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), which enhances the state's ability to achieve our AB 32 goals by adding the nation's first law to control greenhouse gas emissions by curbing sprawl.
- The Governor has set a goal of increasing California's renewable energy sources to 20 percent by 2010, and he supports reaching 33 percent by 2020.
- In June, the Governor announced a new program that waives the sales tax on investment in new manufacturing equipment for Zero Emission Vehicles. This program was developed in conjunction with the State Treasurer and the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority.
- 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 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.
