Californias for Clean Energy & Jobs

Key Facts

Here are 10 important reasons the Californians for Clean Energy and Jobs Network Support Strong Climate Change Legislation and Policies .

1. According to the Wall Street Journal, seven of the Top Ten Clean Tech Companies are in California. Read more here.


2. Three of the nation’s top five cities for clean tech and energy are in California. Read more here.


3. San Diego is California’s top solar energy city. Read more here.


4. Most of the state’s largest employers support reducing greenhouse gases, including Google, eBay, Applied Materials, Waste Management, the California Ski Industry Association, and Virgin America. So does Small Business California and the California Business Alliance for a Green Economy. Read more here.


5. Implementation of California's landmark AB 32 enjoys strong support among Californians. Despite the recession, 66 percent of Californians in the latest PPIC poll support the law. Read more here.


6. There are 10,000 megawatts of renewable power in California currently competing for federal stimulus dollars – directly because of California's commitment to climate change legislation and policies. The total public and private investment from these projects is $30 billion and tens of thousands of new jobs requirements create jobs that span the workforce. Read more here.


7. California’s clean technology sector received $9 billion from 2005-2009 and $2.1 billion investment capital in 2009 alone - 60 percent of the total in North America and more than five times the investment in our nearest competitor, Massachusetts. Read more here.


8. A 2009 study, The Clean Energy Economy by the Pew Charitable Trusts, listed California as the nation’s leading state in clean energy businesses (10,209). Read more here.


9. A study by reputable consultants, The Brattle Group, indicated that effects on small businesses will be negligible: the cost of a $20 meal at one restaurant would increase by three cents, for example. Read the report here.


10. California has more to gain from the green economy than any other state and risks a loss of more than $80 billion in Gross State Product and more than a half million jobs by 2020 if we fail to implement this law as scheduled.” (Green Chamber of Commerce, “Business Leaders Back LAO on Report Vital to State’s Economy,” Press Release, 1/25/10)

California's leads the nation in the number of clean tech jobs and employers. The catalyst: Assembly Bill 32 (AB 32), California's road map to a clean energy future. Passed by a bipartisan majority in the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2006, this law is now in its implementation phase. The California Air Resources Board is the lead agency for promulgating regulations that will continue to create jobs and improve our state's air quality. It is required to:

• Prepare and approve a scoping plan for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from sources or categories of sources of greenhouse gases by 2020 (Health and Safety Code (HSC) §38561).  The scoping plan, approved by the ARB Board December 12, 2008, provides the outline for actions to reduce greenhouse gases in California. The approved scoping plan indicates how these emission reductions will be achieved from significant greenhouse gas sources via regulations, market mechanisms and other actions.
• Identify the statewide level of greenhouse gas emissions in 1990 to serve as the emissions limit to be achieved by 2020 (HSC §38550).   In December 2007, the Board approved the 2020 emission limit of 427 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2E) of greenhouse gases.
• Adopt a regulation requiring the mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions (HSC §38530).  In December 2007, the Board adopted a regulation requiring the largest industrial sources to report and verify their greenhouse gas emissions.  The reporting regulation serves as a solid foundation to determine greenhouse gas emissions and track future changes in emission levels.
• Identify and adopt regulations for discrete early actions that could be enforceable on or before January 1, 2010 (HSC §38560.5).  The Board identified nine discrete early action measures including regulations affecting landfills, motor vehicle fuels, refrigerants in cars, tire pressure, port operations and other sources in 2007 that included ship electrification at ports and reduction of high GWP gases in consumer product.  Regulatory development for the remaining measures is ongoing.
• Ensure early voluntary reductions receive appropriate credit in the implementation of AB 32 (HSC §38562(b)(3)).  In February 2008, the Board approved a policy statement encouraging voluntary early actions and establishing a procedure for project proponents to submit quantification methods to be evaluated by ARB.  ARB, along with California’s local air districts and the California Climate Action Registry, is working to implement this program.
• Convene an Environmental Justice Advisory Committee (EJAC) to advise the Board in developing the Scoping Plan and any other pertinent matter in implementing AB 32 (HSC §38591).  The EJAC has met 12 times since early 2007, providing comments on the proposed early action measures and the development of the scoping plan, and submitted its comments and recommendations on the scoping plan in October 2008.  ARB will continue to work with the EJAC as AB 32 is implemented.
• Appoint an Economic and Technology Advancement Advisory Committee (ETAAC) to provide recommendations for technologies, research and greenhouse gas emission reduction measures (HSC §38591).  After a year-long public process, The ETAAC submitted a report of their recommendations to the Board in February 2008. The ETAAC also reviewed and provided comments on the scoping plan.

AB 32 Timeline

• 2010 - ARB conducted a series of rulemakings, workshops and public hearings to adopt GHG regulations including rules governing market mechanisms.
  
  
• By Jan 1, 2012 - GHG rules and market mechanisms adopted by ARB take effect and become legally enforceable on Jan. 1, 2013.
  
  
• December 31, 2020 - Deadline for achieving 2020 GHG emissions cap.

California is fast becoming the world leader in clean energy and technology. Building on generations of environmental policy leadership, our state’s new wave of job-creating innovation and investment is being spurred by the state's forward-thinking environmental policies.

Passed with bipartisan support in the legislature and signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006, AB 32 is the catalyst for the billions of dollars of venture capital being plowed into California’s economy that is expected to create more than 1.2 million jobs.

According to the Economic Development Department, more than 500,000 clean tech and clean energy jobs already exist in California. Clean tech jobs generally are known as those in:

• Energy generation, management and storage, and energy efficiency, including solar, wind, geothermal, fuels cell and hydrogen
• Transportation: advanced transportation technologies, biofuels
• Materials and Green Building: includes advanced materials and engineering approaches, materials recovery
• Water and air related technologies

The clean energy is the fastest growing economic sector in California – one of the few “bright spots” in our economy. And according to Stephen Levy, Director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, “it is likely that the first beneficiaries of green job growth will be workers who are currently unemployed.”

Moving forward with the implementation of AB 32 is critical for California’s economic recovery.  Taking action to support these efforts will help our economy, improve our air quality, and reduce our dependence on dirty fossil fuels.