California Air Resources Board Approves Cap-And-Trade Regulations

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The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has endorsed the cap-and-trade regulation under the state's A.B.32 law – California's climate-change law signed by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2006.

The regulation sets a statewide limit on the emissions from sources responsible for 80% of California's greenhouse-gas emissions and establishes a price signal needed to drive long-term investment in cleaner fuels and more efficient use of energy, the ARB explains. The program is designed to provide covered entities the flexibility to seek out and implement the lowest-cost options to reduce emissions.

The cap-and-trade program also works in concert with other measures, such as standards for cleaner vehicles, low-carbon fuels, renewable electricity and energy efficiency, and complements and supports California's existing efforts to reduce smog-forming and toxic air pollutants.

The regulation will cover 360 businesses representing 600 facilities and is divided into two broad phases: an initial phase beginning in 2012 that will include all major industrial sources along with utilities, and a second phase that starts in 2015 and brings in distributors of transportation fuels, natural gas and other fuels.

The regulation has been in development for the past two years since the passage of the Scoping Plan in 2008.

For more program details, click here

SOURCE: California Air Resources Board

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