Environment

SACRAMENTO – At a meeting with the League of California Cities, California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today challenged local officials to “jump in now and lead the California campaign against oil dependency and worsening climate change.” Brown’s meeting with the League comes on the heels of a landmark agreement with San Bernardino County to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the county level.

During an address presented today at the 109th annual League meeting in Sacramento, Attorney General Brown said: “Under the Global Warming Solutions Act, AB 32, California is required to cut greenhouse gases dramatically, starting in 2012. Yet the challenge is so daunting—and growing daily—that we can’t wait five years to act. With intensifying hurricanes, heat waves and forest fires, the problem is upon us. Local governments should jump in now and lead the campaign against oil dependency and worsening climate change.”

Brown warned the officials that increasing oil dependency and global warming threaten the well-being of communities throughout the state. Potential problems, he said, include the following:

• Higher temperatures that reduce the amount of water stored in the Sierra snow pack and threaten the reliability of half the surface water in the state.
• Rising sea levels that increase coastal erosion and introduce seawater into the delta and levee systems.
• Increasing levels of smog.
• Increasing electricity demands that overburden the state’s power grid.
• Extreme heat events that increase the risk of dehydration, heatstroke and heart attack.

Under California law, the state is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and then reducing 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. To achieve the state’s 2020 target, California must reduce current emissions by at least 25%.

Local governments and agencies are responsible, under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), to address the potential impacts of global warming. To date, the Attorney General has submitted formal comments to thirteen local jurisdictions, under CEQA, encouraging them to evaluate and lessen the increases in CO2 emissions caused by land use decisions. A recent agreement with San Bernardino established a unique greenhouse gas reduction plan that identifies sources of emissions and sets reduction targets for the County.

Local government is already taking a leadership role in California to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Institute for Local Government has partnered with the League of California Cities and the California State Association of Counties to launch a California Climate Action Network to fight global warming. The network proposes a variety of actions that can be taken by local jurisdictions to cut greenhouse gas emissions including: conserving energy, reducing travel distances, and using lower carbon fuels.

The Climate Action Network’s brief overview is attached. For more information visit: http://www.ca-ilg.org/climatechange/

To watch footage from Brown's speech please visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIsOptWbPjI

SAN FRANCISCO - The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today issued a key decision that requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reconsider its refusal to grant energy crisis refunds—which could potentially return $1.3 billion to California ratepayers. The Attorney General had asked the court to reverse FERC’s refusal to grant refunds after ratepayers suffered massive price-gouging on short-term energy purchased in the Pacific Northwest during the energy crisis of 2001.

In arguments before the 9th Circuit, the Attorney General argued that FERC abused its discretion when it excluded the state’s purchases from refund eligibility. The Court agreed with California’s position and remanded the case back to FERC for reconsideration in light of the Court’s decision.

Commenting on today’s decision, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. said: “Today’s decision is a major victory for California ratepayers. I encourage FERC to promptly refund the more than one billion that was stolen from the people of California.”

FERC had asserted that California was not entitled to refunds in the Pacific Northwest because the power was consumed in California, not in the Pacific Northwest. Today, the Court found FERC’s reasoning was specious and arbitrary. The Court remanded the case back to FERC, instructing the commission to consider the evidence of market manipulation that it had previously ignored.

As a result of today’s decision, California can now potentially claim $1.3 billion in refunds from non-governmental energy sellers, the largest potential refund-payers being Powerex, Sempra, TransAlta Energy, Coral Power and Trans-Canada.

The case is Port of Seattle, Washington, et al. v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, no. 03-74139, also known as the Pacific Northwest (PNW) or Puget case.

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LOS ANGELES – California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced a “landmark settlement” of the state’s global warming lawsuit against San Bernardino County. The agreement, approved today by the County Board of Supervisors, establishes a unique greenhouse gas reduction plan that will identify sources of emissions and set feasible reduction targets for the County.

“San Bernardino now sets the pace for how local government can adopt powerful measures to combat oil dependency and climate disruption. This landmark agreement establishes one of the first greenhouse gas reduction plans in California. It is a model that I encourage other cities and counties to adopt,” Brown told a news conference at the Attorney General’s Office in downtown Los Angeles.

Under today’s agreement, the County will embark upon a thirty month public process aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions attributable to land use decisions and County government operations. The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plan mandates the following:

• An inventory of all known, or reasonably discoverable, sources of greenhouse gases in the County.
• An inventory of the greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990, currently, and that projected for the year 2020.
• A target for the reduction of emissions attributable to the county’s discretionary land use decisions and its own internal government operations.

Commenting on the agreement, San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman Gary C. Ovitt said, “Only a handful of California counties and cities have formally addressed climate change issues, and San Bernardino County will lead the way in the implementation of strategies and steps to enhance our future and serve as a model for others.”

Under California law, the state is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and then reducing 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. Currently, California generates approximately 500 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent, significantly above 1990 levels. To achieve the 2020 target, California must reduce current emissions by at least 25%.

“Local government action to combat global warming is absolutely essential to meet the goals which Governor Schwarzenegger and the California Legislature set forth in AB 32,” Brown asserted.

To date, the Attorney General has submitted formal comments, under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), to San Bernardino, San Diego, Sacramento, Orange County, Merced, Kern, Fresno, San Joaquin, Contra Costa, Yuba, Richmond, and San Jose.

On their own, the following communities in California are already initiating measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sonoma, Santa Monica, Berkeley, Marin, Palo Alto, Chula Vista, Modesto and Healdsburg.

Feasible mitigations include the following:

• High-density developments that reduce vehicle trips and utilize public transit.
• Parking spaces for high-occupancy vehicles and car-share programs.
• Electric vehicle charging facilities and conveniently located alternative fueling stations.
• Limits on parking.
• Transportation impact fees on developments to fund public transit service.
• Regional transportation centers where various types of public transportation meet.
• Energy efficient design for buildings, appliances, lighting and office equipment.
• Solar panels, water reuse systems and on-site renewable energy production.
• Methane recovery in landfills and wastewater treatment plants to generate electricity.
• Carbon emissions credit purchases that fund alternative energy projects.

Today’s settlement resolves a lawsuit, filed by the Attorney General in April, contesting the adequacy of San Bernardino’s general plan under the California Environmental Quality Act. Brown contended that the plan, a blueprint for the physical development of land until year 2030, did not adequately analyze the effects of development on global warming nor did it identify feasible mitigation measures.

San Bernardino currently generates about 10 trips per household per day, and over 84% of the work trips are made by car. The County, one of the fastest growing in California, projects a 25% increase in population, more than 400,000 people.

The settlement agreement is attached.

In response to today's California Supreme Court Decision In Re Tobacco Cases II, California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. issued the following statement:

"This decision, while upholding some restrictions, nevertheless reaffirms the full authority of the California Attorney General to enforce the multi-billion dollar tobacco settlement, especially when minors are involved.'

SACRAMENTO - Charging that the auto industry is working to “sabotage California's landmark greenhouse gas law,” California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today attacked a proposed energy bill amendment and called upon the House to reject any effort to block state authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

Attorney General Brown joined 13 states and the City of New York in sending a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, voicing strong opposition to “troublesome language that may be used to eliminate existing Clean Air Act authority to address global warming, including California's landmark greenhouse gas emissions standards.”

In a statement explaining why he opposes the Hill-Terry Amendment, commonly referred to as H.R. 2927, Brown said: “California could be crippled by this brazen attempt to pre-empt our state emissions standards. The auto industry is working to sabotage California’s landmark greenhouse gas law.”

Under the Clean Air Act, California can adopt standards stricter than federal rules by requesting a waiver from EPA. Congress expressly allowed California to impose stricter environmental regulations in recognition of the state's “compelling and extraordinary conditions,” including topography, climate, high number and concentration of vehicles and its pioneering role in vehicle emissions regulation.

In the letter, the Attorney General points out that “while providing only modest increases in federal fuel economy standards, the bill includes language that has the potential to disrupt the statutory framework for controlling carbon dioxide emissions that was endorsed by the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Brown supports the Markey-Platts proposed amendment which sets aggressive but technologically feasible fuel economy standards that promote energy independence and advanced automobile technologies. Brown said that unless the Hill-Terry Amendment explicitly defends the right of California and other states to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, the Speaker should block its consideration and the House should vote to defeat it.

A vote on amendments to the bill is expected this Friday. The letter from Attorney General Brown to the Honorable Nancy Pelosi is attached.

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SACRAMENTO—In response to Republican demands that major provisions of California’s environmental law be gutted as the price for approving this year’s state budget, California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. issued the following statement:

“It is an outrage that a small group of Republican Senators would gut California’s Environmental Quality Act as the price of their voting—a month late—on this year’s budget. Their proposal would profoundly undercut the positive efforts of cities and counties to reduce greenhouse gases and fight global warming.

It is the constitutional responsibility of the Attorney General to enforce all the laws of California, including our ground breaking environmental laws. California has a proud history as being the unquestioned leader in the fight to control global warming. We should not let a few Republican state Senators—all of whom opposed the Global Warming Solutions Act--turn back the clock with this misguided and retrograde maneuver. It represents global warming denial at its worst.”

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LOS ANGELES – Former Presidential candidate and current California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today submitted a video question, for Monday’s YouTube/CNN Presidential Debate, calling on the Presidential candidates to explain exactly how they will “dramatically reduce the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.”

Brown’s YouTube video challenge comes on the heels of a June 8th letter to each major candidate requesting support for the right of California and 11 other states to curb greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.

In today’s YouTube challenge, Brown notes that “scientists warn us that the greatest threat to America and other countries is climate disruption and global warming,” and he asks the candidates “as the next president what will you do about it? How will you get this country and other nations to dramatically reduce the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases?”

“Global warming is the most important long-term environmental issue facing our nation and candidates must tell us where they stand,” Brown said. “Whether or not YouTube selects this submission, each candidate--to be credible--must provide the voters with a clear and specific plan for dramatically reducing greenhouse gases, thereby forestalling a climate catastrophe.”

Brown recently testified before Congress and the United States Environmental Protection Agency to win federal approval of landmark global warming regulations that would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent. These regulations become operative only upon approval by the US Environmental Protection Agency. So far, EPA has refused to act on California’s request.

Brown sent a letter to the nation’s major presidential candidates, challenging them to formally join California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, in requesting EPA’s approval of the historic greenhouse gas regulations. The letter is attached.

Candidates Joe Biden, John Edwards, Barack Obama, Ron Paul and Bill Richardson joined California in formally requesting the EPA to act.

To watch Brown’s YouTube/CNN video challenge visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHN3H5R2b5s

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today called on the nation’s presidential candidates to support the right of states to curb tailpipe greenhouse gas emission to fight global warming.

Brown said the candidates’ support is urgently needed because President Bush and powerful congressional opponents are attempting to block California and 11 other states from carrying out tough new rules to control carbon dioxide and pollutants that cause global warming.

“Global warming is the most important long-term environmental, economic and security issue facing our country and the world,” Brown said.

Brown, in Washington to testify at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time Friday before the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, is urging the candidates to support California and 11 other states. These states have adopted landmark global warming regulations requiring a 30 percent cut in motor vehicle greenhouse gas emissions by 2016. Those regulations, however, cannot be implemented until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grants what is called a waiver, and EPA has been stalling on California’s waiver request for more than a year.

On Friday, Brown released the letter he sent Thursday to the nation’s major presidential candidates, challenging them to formally join California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, in supporting California’s historic greenhouse gas regulations.

The letter, which notes that the public comment period on the waiver request closes June 15, states “Even those who believe the federal government should not act at this time to combat global warming should agree that, under the states rights doctrine, individual states should be allowed to act in an area where they believe the health of their citizens is at stake.”

In scheduled testimony to the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, Brown presented California’s case for stricter and comprehensive rules to control the growing threat of global warming.

Attorney General Brown’s letter to the presidential candidates is attached.

Brown will testify before Chairman Edward Markey, D-Massachusetts, and the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

The committee will also hear testimony from: The Honorable Stephen L. Johnson, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency, The Honorable Nicole Nason, Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and The Honorable Martha Coakley, Attorney General, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

WHEN: 9:30 a.m. Eastern, Friday, June 8, 2007

WHERE: 2318 Rayburn House Office Building and on the Web at: www.globalwarming.house.gov

Updates forthcoming

California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today called on Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Virginia, to scrap his assault on the Clean Air Act and drop his proposed legislation to repeal current U.S. EPA authority to curb greenhouse gases.

Brown said that Boucher’s proposal would be “a death blow to California’s pioneering efforts to restrict tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions and a blatant assault on the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to fight global warming.”

The proposed bill is the subject of a hearing scheduled for Thursday June 7, 2007, before the House Energy & Air Quality Subcommittee. Rep. Boucher, who chairs the subcommittee, proposed the legislation to remove the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles and bar California from setting its own global warming standards.

Brown joined 14 state attorneys general in voicing strong opposition, noting that the proposed bill would amend the Clean Air Act in “fundamentally short-sighted ways.” Under the Clean Air Act, California can adopt standards stricter than federal rules by requesting a waiver from EPA.

The letter is attached.