Global Warming In the News

Although Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and British Prime Minister Tony Blair stood together in Long Beach Monday to unveil a largely symbolic agreement to work together to combat global warming, the biggest test of Schwarzenegger's commitment to curb greenhouse gases will come in the next few weeks in Sacramento.

Legislation that would make California a national pioneer in restricting carbon dioxide and other gases is likely to be one of the hottest topics as lawmakers finish the final portion of their session before the November election.

And as Schwarzenegger and Blair announced an unusual agreement that could someday foster cooperation between companies in California and the United Kingdom to help lower emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases, some environmentalists and Democrats complained that Schwarzenegger is seeking to weaken the legislation.

While the governor has said he wants to sign the bill, the administration has suggested changes that many environmentalists say would hurt the state's ability to enforce the caps and would allow some industries to avoid deadlines for compliance.

"There is reason to applaud two high-profile politicians turning a spotlight on global warming,'' said Bernadette del Chiaro, a lobbyist for the group Environment California. "But at the end of the day, it's meaningless unless there is a true, mandatory emissions cap in California."

For Schwarzenegger, the legislation, which is being co-sponsored by Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez and is a top priority for many Democrats, represents a delicate political balancing act.

The governor announced a proposal last summer to reduce gases like carbon dioxide that cause global warming, and he has already begun to make the idea a centerpiece of his re-election campaign.

But many business groups, including key Schwarzenegger allies like the California Chamber of Commerce, are adamantly opposed to strict caps and are lobbying against the bill. Schwarzenegger risks upsetting industry if he signs the bill, but many political observers believe his global warming rhetoric will look hollow if he doesn't enact the law.

Several environmentalists noted Monday that Blair has enacted caps in his country.

The bill proposes reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emitted in the state by 25 percent by 2020, a target Schwarzenegger proposed last year. The gases are emitted by such sources as cars, power plants and manufacturers.

The measure calls for the state Air Resources Board to implement and enforce the reductions for each industry.

Schwarzenegger, however, has proposed creating a new board, made up largely of his Cabinet secretaries, to take charge of the reductions. He also has proposed allowing the board to change the deadlines for reductions if the deadlines are detrimental to the economy -- a key caveat that has met with resistance.

Núñez said he has a "big problem" with political appointees controlling most of the application of the new law. Members of the Air Resources Board are appointed by the governor but are typically well versed in air pollution issues. Núñez noted that the governor's amendments raise questions about who would enforce the caps if industries or companies didn't comply.

"We need to make sure there are teeth in the bill,'' he said.

Administration officials insist their amendments are not designed to weaken enforcement of the caps.

"The governor is committed to enforceable caps,'' Linda Adams, head of Schwarzenegger's Environmental Protection Agency, said in a recent interview.

Núñez said he has spoken with the governor several times about the bill in the last few weeks and has suggested creating a new board, comprising gubernatorial and legislative appointees, that would enact the law.

He said the governor appears willing to negotiate with lawmakers.

The legislation, AB32, will likely have its next hearing in the state Senate's Appropriations Committee in two weeks.