Environment

LOS ANGELES – Citing the “threat of global climate disruption,” California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today joined three national environmental organizations in petitioning the United States Environmental Protection Agency to adopt strict greenhouse gas regulations for ocean-going vessels. The petition asks the EPA to make specific findings that ships significantly contribute to global warming.

At a news conference at the attorney general’s headquarters in Los Angeles, Brown said: “The U.S. EPA has the authority to curb greenhouse gas emissions and our petition today asks the agency to exercise that authority without delay.”

Ocean-going vessels, in total, emit more CO2 emissions than any nation in the world except the U.S., Russia, China, Japan, India and Germany. Ominously, these emissions are projected to increase nearly 75% during the next 20 years.

“International law guarantees a right of ‘innocent passage’ for all ocean-going vessels, but this right does not include polluting the air or water near our coastal cities,” Brown said. “If the U.S. is to do its part in reducing the threat of global climate disruption, then EPA must limit the global warming emissions from ships that enter the ports of the United States,” Brown added.

Under the Clean Air Act, California has the authority to file a petition asking the EPA to establish CO2 emissions standards. In the petition filed today, Brown asks the EPA to:

• Make a finding that carbon dioxide emissions from ocean-going vessels contribute to air pollution and endanger human health and welfare.
• Set standards for reducing such carbon dioxide emissions.

Brown said that under the reasoning of the United States Supreme Court’s holding in Massachusetts v. EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to adopt standards for greenhouse gas emissions from vessels that enter U.S. territorial waters.

The United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) has authority under international treaties to establish pollution standards for vessels but to date has failed to adopt controls on greenhouse gas emissions. At a recent meeting of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee, it was agreed to inventory greenhouse gases by 2009, but no commitment was made to regulate such emissions.

The state’s petition to EPA is attached.

For more information, please visit http://www.oceana.org/climate/solutions/oceana/no-more-free-ride/

SACRAMENTO – In response to today’s District Court decision in Vermont, California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. renewed his vow to “haul the Bush administration into court” if the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) refuses to grant California’s request to impose tough emissions standards on motor vehicles.

Responding to today’s decision Brown said, “Unfortunately, today’s decision upholding California's greenhouse gas emissions standards will turn out to be a hollow victory if the EPA persists in denying California's waiver petition.”

The Bush administration has been ducking California’s request since 2005.

“We will haul the Bush administration into court if it persists in stalling on our request to regulate emissions from motor vehicles,” Brown warned.

Judge Sessions, who wrote the decision, affirmed that Vermont’s effort to control greenhouse gas emissions is not preempted by the federal law.

In 2002, California adopted AB 1493 to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles to fight global warming. 14 other states -- Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington -- have enacted the California law and are also waiting for federal approval. Under the Clean Air Act, California can adopt stricter standards by obtaining a waiver from EPA.

Approval of California’s waiver means the other states would get approval automatically.

“Our petition represents a reasoned approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and it has been shamefully ignored for almost two years,” Brown said.

Congress passed the Clean Air Act in 1963 and subsequent amendments in 1967, 1970 and 1977 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. Brown said Congress intended the state to continue its pioneering efforts at adopting stricter motor vehicle emissions standards, far more advanced than the federal rules.

California has long asserted that the automobile industry can rise to the challenge of global warming. Judge Sessions -- in a thorough 240-page analysis -- agreed and stated: “History suggests that the ingenuity of the industry, once put in gear, responds admirably to most technological challenges.”

SAN FRANCISCO – California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that ConocoPhillips has agreed to an “unprecedented global warming reduction plan” to off-set greenhouse gases caused by the expansion of its Northern California oil refinery.

Brown said that the oil company has agreed to offset greenhouse gas emission increases until the carbon-cutting regulations of AB 32 take effect in 2012.

“This agreement is a groundbreaking step in California’s battle to combat global warming and gives the state an early edge in meeting the greenhouse gas reduction goals of AB 32,” Brown told a news conference with ConocoPhillips at the Attorney General’s Office in San Francisco.

ConocoPhillips has proposed an oil refinery expansion at its Rodeo facility in Contra Costa County, including a hydrogen plant to make cleaner-burning gasoline and diesel fuels from the heavy portion of crude oil. Brown appealed to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, challenging the environmental documentation for the project and the failure to mitigate the increased greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the operation of the hydrogen plant.

The Attorney General said he would now withdraw the state’s appeal based on the significant greenhouse gas emission offsets agreed to by ConocoPhillips.

Brown added, “Under this unprecedented global warming reduction plan, ConocoPhillips becomes the first oil company in America to off-set greenhouse gas emissions from a refinery expansion project. This is a breakthrough.”

The hydrogen project will initially emit approximately 500,000 metric tons of CO2 per year. ConocoPhillips will take the following actions as part of its efforts to offset these emissions:

• Auditing all its California refineries and identifying all greenhouse gas emission sources and reduction opportunities.

• Conducting an energy efficiency audit at Rodeo to identify feasible energy efficiency measures.

• Funding a $7 million offset program that the Bay Area Air Quality Management District will use to support offset projects in the Bay Area.

• Funding $2.8 million for reforestation efforts in California, with an estimated sequestration of 1.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gases over the life of the reforestation projects.

• Funding $200,000 for restoration of the San Pablo wetlands.

• Surrendering the operating permit for the calciner at the Santa Maria facility, which ConocoPhillips estimates emitted 70,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases annually.

• If ConocoPhillips reduces its greenhouse gas emissions at the Rodeo facility, it will get credit towards its contribution to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District offset fund.

ConocoPhillips also agrees to offset any CO2 emissions in excess of 500,000 metric tons per year from the hydrogen unit if it increases its use of hydrogen. The company may apply to receive offsets credits for reductions achieved through the projects and activities funded through this agreement, under AB 32, or any equivalent state or federal law or regulation.

In 2005, ConocoPhillips proposed a project, known as the Clean Fuels Expansion Project, designed to make cleaner-burning gasoline and diesel fuels from the heavy gas oil already produced at the refinery. The expansion included a hydrogen plant to produce steam and electricity for these refinery processes. ConocoPhillips estimated that the project would increase the supply of cleaner burning fuels by approximately one million gallons per day in California.

Under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Contra Costa County prepared an Environmental Impact Report on the project and accepted public comments. After the concluding that the report adequately addressed greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, the County Planning Commission certified the report. Attorney General Brown appealed to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors in May 2007 on grounds that the impact report did not adequately address the greenhouse gas emissions and the associated climate change impacts of the project.

Scientists throughout the world overwhelming agree that global warming is real, is here now, and will get worse. At current emissions levels, temperatures in California will increase by 4 to 10 degrees during this century. In 2006 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed AB 32, landmark global warming legislation that commits the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020—a 25% reduction. But AB 32 regulations do not take effect until 2012 and there are no current limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

Today’s agreement with ConocoPhillips comes on the heels of a landmark agreement with San Bernardino County to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the county level. These actions join a growing movement at the local level to combat climate change. As of June 2007, over 540 mayors from 50 states have signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, a pledge to reduce global warming pollution in cities 7% below 1990 levels by the year 2012.

In California, the League of California Cities and the California State Association of Counties have partnered with the Institute for Local Government to launch a California Climate Action Network. The network proposes a variety of actions—from conserving energy to using lower carbon fuels—that can be taken by local jurisdictions to cut greenhouse gas emissions. For more information visit: http://www.ca-ilg.org/climatechange/

The attorney general’s global warming agreement with ConocoPhillips is attached.

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