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CALIFORNIA CLIMATE CHANGE CENTER

UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA at BERKELEY

Click here for photo credits     

POLICY BRIEFING  (last updated:  July 2005)

 

This page provides a briefing on the state of climate change policy at different levels of governance. 

 

 

STATE POLICY ~ CALIFORNIA

 

  • June 2005, Governor Schwarzenegger signs executive order with specific targets for reducing California’s emission of greenhouse gases.   The order calls for a reduction of GHG emissions to 2000 levels by 2010; a reduction of GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020; and a reduction of GHG emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.

For more information, click here:  State of California Climate Change Portal

  • August 2002—Governor Davis signs Assembly Bill 1493 (also known as the Pavley bill) directing the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to develop greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and light trucks.  The ARB has developed standards that are to phase in over the 2009-2016 models years.  The new standards are projected to result in an 18 percent reduction in climate changes emissions from the cars and lights trucks in 2020 and a 27 percent reduction in 2030.   The auto industry is challenging the standards in court.

For more information, click here:  State of California Air Resources Board information

STATE POLICY ~ CALIFORNIA and OTHER STATES

 

  • May 2005:  New York Governor George Pataki proposes regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.  The regulations are modeled on California's greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and trucks with the same target year for full implementation, 2016.

For more information, click here: State of New York Department of Environmental Conservation 

  • September 2003:  The governors of California, Oregon, and Washington announce a joint strategy to reduce global warming. Included in this effort: using their combined purchasing power to buy fuel-efficient vehicles for official use; developing uniform appliance-efficiency standards; collaborating to measure and report greenhouse-gas emissions; reducing the use of diesel generators on ships in California, Oregon, and Washington State ports.

For more information, click here:  State of California West Coast Initiative Website

  • 2003:  Nine Northeast states from Maryland to Maine agree to develop a mandatory cap-and-trade system for emissions from that region's power plants.  The effort, known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, has engaged and sought input from stakeholders and has produced an institutional and technical architecture.  Specific emissions reduction targets are currently being negotiated.   

For more information, click here:  Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative website

  • 2001:  Six New England states and five eastern Canadian provinces agree to the Climate Change Action Plan.   The Plans calls for each state to develop specific policies to reduce greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2010, then reduce them another 10 percent by 2020.

For more information, click here:  New England Climate Action website

 NATIONAL POLICY

  • June 25, 2005:  In a 66-29 vote, the US Senate passes a Sense of the Senate Resolution that, among other provisions, calls for “carrying out reasonable and responsible actions to ensure significant and meaningful reductions in emissions of all greenhouse gases,” and “participating in international negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to achieve significant, long-term, cost-effective reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions.”  The resolution has been interpreted as calling for more stringent policies with mandatory compliance over voluntary action.  The growing number of Republicans voicing their belief in the need to act to mitigate climate change may presage a future shift in national policy to a more aggressive approach.

For more information, click here:  Text of the Senate resolution.  

  • January 2003.  US Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman introduce legislation with mandatory reductions on greenhouse gas emissions to be achieved through a market-based trading system, an approach often referred to as the cap and trade approach.  McCain and Lieberman began calling for such obligatory reductions in emissions levels going back to 2001. 

For more information, click here:  McCain statement or Lieberman statement

  • 1997:  U.S. President Bill Clinton send Vice President Al Gore to Kyoto, Japan to participate in negotiations on the global climate change treaty.  Clinton signs the Kyoto Protocol but never submits its to the Senate for ratification, which had indicated its opposition. 

GLOBAL POLICY

  • February 16, 2005: the Kyoto Protocol goes into effect.  The Kyoto Protocol commits those countries that have ratified it to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions levels.  Russian ratification pushed the total emissions of those agreeing to participate past 55% of global emissions, the threshold required for the Protocol to enter into force.  Controversy continues to surround this global treaty.  Concerns persist about the effectiveness of the treaty in the face of US rejection and about the likelihood that compulsory emissions reductions will be met given the lack of an enforcement mechanism. 

For more information, click here:  Official website for the Kyoto Protocol

For more information, click here:  Pew Center on Global Climate Change

For the text of the treaty itself, click here:  Kyoto Protocol

  • 1992:  United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Rio de Janeiro.  152 nations signed onto the call for voluntary actions to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.

LOCAL POLICY

 

  • June 14, 2005:  The US Conference of Mayors unanimously passes a resolution calling for action to reduce climate changing greenhouse gas emissions.  The Mayors commit to meeting or exceeding the Kyoto Protocol reductions initially negotiated by the Clinton Administration.   The resolution further calls for establishment of a bi-partisan policy at the national level that includes mandatory reductions to be met through flexible policy mechanisms.    The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of the nation's 1183 U.S. cities with populations of 30,000 or more.

For more information, click here:  US Conference of Mayors website

  • June 20, 2005:  As of this date, the mayors of 166 U.S. cities have signed the resolution passed at the US Conference of Mayors meetings held in June.  Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels has led this effort.

 For more information, click here:  Seattle Mayor Nickels website

 

**last updated:  July 2005**

 

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