Air Resources Board Finally Schedules AB 32 Scoping Plan Update Workshop

After months of foot-dragging, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has scheduled the long-awaited workshop to update the AB 32 Scoping Plan.  The workshop will commence at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 13, 2013, in Sacramento and will run until 3 p.m. In addition, the workshop will be webcast and can be accessed the day of the workshop at: http://www.calepa.ca.gov/broadcast/?BDO=1

AB 32, the Global Warming Reduction Act passed by the Legislature in 2006, required CARB to develop a Scoping Plan that laid out the approach California will take to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) to achieve the goal of reducing emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The Scoping Plan, first approved by CARB in 2008, is required by law to be updated every five years to ensure that the state is on track to achieve the 2020 GHG reduction goal and will define CARB’s climate change priorities for the next five years.  

According to CARB, the latest update will "highlight California’s progress toward meeting the ‘near-term’ 2020 GHG emission reduction goals defined in the original Scoping Plan (2008) and lay the groundwork to reach post-2020 goals set forth in previous Executive Orders."  CARB has stated plans to focus on six key topic areas for the post-2020 element: 1) transportation, fuels, and infrastructure; 2) energy generation, transmission, and efficiency; 3) waste; 4) water; 5) agriculture; and 6) natural resources. CARB has budgeted $4 million for the Scoping Plan update from the AB32 Implementation fees imposed on industries subject to AB 32 emissions reduction mandates.

CLFP and other representatives of obligated industries have been pressing CARB to commence the update process since late 2012.  Citing the massive expansion of the cap-and-trade program in 2015, obligated industries want sufficient time to discuss possible regulatory changes to the cap-and-trade program.  Under the current plan, cap-and-trade will be enlarged to include transportation fuels and natural gas suppliers under the cap.  Also possible are potential adjustments in compliance deadlines for the low carbon fuel standard and leakage determinations that will impact industry assistance factors for food processors. 

For companies subject to the cap-and-trade, one of the most important aspects of the update will hinge on a fresh emissions inventory.  Updated emissions totals, after two years of cap-and-trade, will give the state an accurate picture as to how far the state has progressed toward its 2020 emissions reduction goals. But such totals will also inform as to what regulatory adjustments may be necessary to achieve the 2020 emissions reduction targets in the most cost-effective manner as required by AB 32.