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SB-350 Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015 Advances in Sacramento
Is it possible the State Legislature has finally gotten something right? Well, yes and no.
The "yes" part is that the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act, being championed by Governor Brown, finally goes after the real causes of greenhouse gas emissions rather than sticking with nonsensical measures utilized by developer funding bills like SB375 and cockamamie social engineering schemes like Plan Bay Area.
Senate Bill 350 (see the web link below) aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40% of 1990 levels by 2030. That's a really bold plan.
It proposes to accomplish GHG reductions by:
Dramatically increasing the amount of power generated by alternative, renewable sources (solar, wind, etc.) because energy production is the number one greenhouse has emissions producer;
Increasing the number of "zero emissions" vehicles sold that run on alternative fuels (electricity, hydrogen, etc.) by bringing down the prices of cars and increasing the places consumers can re-charge or refuel those vehicles, instead of continuing down the failed path of trying to get people to abandon their cars;
Allocating more capital to retrofit existing buildings, to greatly increase their energy efficiency, and by raising equipment and appliance energy standards.
Amazingly, the bill focuses primarily on job creation, improved public health, and technology innovation rather than endless penalties for people who are just trying to live their lives. Better still, reductions in energy use / increases in energy efficiency to meet the new targets are generally left to the innovation of the market to achieve.
Wow. What a concept. Actually defining what the problem really is and acting to fix it. This is relatively unheard of in American politics these days.
The oil companies, of course, hate this bill. The U.S. car manufacturers will probably fight it (they've been fighting every new California energy bill since the 1970s). And big utilities legitimately ask how will this be paid for?
But that aside, this is possibly a watershed moment in Sacramento. This may be the first "climate" related bill we've seen in decades that does not include attacking car owners and subsidizing high density, transit oriented development (TOD). Could it be that they've finally figured out that both of those are just plain dumb and will never reduce greenhouse gas emissions (and in the case of TOD actually increase GHG emissions)?
I think this is a significant bill and may be a significant event. It may represent a sea change in thinking in Sacramento, ironically, driven by the fact that we are running out of time to reduce emissions, and promoting long term development of increasingly dense suburbs wouldn't be fast enough even if it worked... which is doesn't.
This new bill, without saying as much, essentially abandons the Plan Bay Area / SB 375 strategy to reduce greenhouse gases in favor of more productive, targeted methods. If passed, it will certainly compete with and likely channel significant funding away from TOD and into actual reduction programs and investments and subsidies.
So what's the "no" part? Well, SB350 transfers the job of implementing all gasoline regulations into the hands of the Air Resources Board, a regulatory agency whose leaders are appointed by the governor.
Roger Hernandez (D-West Covina) is concerned that would give "unscripted power — unregulated, limitless power" to the board and "take it away from elected officials." That part of the trend in government regulations is all too familiar to residents in Marin.