SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown has made climate change
the centerpiece of his final tenure by laying out the most aggressive
benchmark in North America, which would reduce California’s carbon
footprint and boost the state’s renewable energy use to 50 percent in 15
years.
Securing legislation requiring that standard in the
world’s eighth-largest economy would be a timely win for Brown before
international leaders meet in Paris in November for the United Nations
climate change conference. Brown is likely to attend the conference, but
he has not said so officially.
But first, the Democratic governor has to break through a logjam in his own party in the final week of the legislative session.
Many
Assembly Democrats — including moderates and those representing less
wealthy districts — are concerned that the ambitious proposal to cut
petroleum use by half, boost renewable electricity use to 50 percent and
double energy efficiency in existing buildings will hurt California’s
economy and working-class residents.
An oil industry-funded group,
the California Driver’s Alliance, is running what climate law
proponents call “fear-mongering” ads suggesting the bill will raise gas
prices and even result in rationing, harkening back to gas lines during
the oil crisis of the 1970s.
Lobbying has intensified on both
fronts. Billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer and Oscar-winning
actress Halle Berry are making personal appeals urging undecided
lawmakers to vote for the bill. They are joined by President Barack
Obama, California U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and a
long list of fellow Democrats.
So far, the Brown administration
and legislative leaders have shared little publicly as backroom
negotiations come down to Friday’s deadline to consider bills.
“I
think the historic weight of this measure is starting to be felt,” said
Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, during a press
conference Tuesday with local bishops, who cited Pope Francis’
encyclical on the environment as a call to action.
“I think at the
end of the day that many members on the Assembly side will clearly look
at the short- and long-term implications of health and to the economy
of California and will do the right thing,” said de Leon, who is
carrying Brown’s proposal.
Californians share Brown’s
environmental concerns and a majority supports his call for tougher
standards. A July poll by the Public Policy Institute of California
found 79 percent of residents agree global warming is either a very
serious or somewhat serious threat to quality of life.
One of the
main sticking points for lawmakers reluctant to tighten climate change
rules concerns the California Air Resources Board, an unelected body
with broad power to set vehicle emissions and fuel standards to decide
how the state will reduce oil use.
Some moderate Democrats want
the Legislature to approve board regulations, but de Leon has said he is
unwilling to strip the agency’s power. Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura
Hills, who is carrying a companion bill to extend California’s current
emission-reduction targets to 2050, said she would add a requirement for
the board to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of policies for lawmakers
to review.
Another major point of contention is the mandate to cut
gasoline use by 50 percent. The oil industry views it as a direct
attack on its business, and it is fighting back through ads and lobbying
in the Capitol.
Assemblyman Henry Perea, D-Fresno, whose district is
dominated by oil and agriculture, has been the most visible moderate. He
has suggested scaling back the petroleum mandate.
Supporters say
it’s possible to reduce emissions by increasing fuel efficiency
standards, adding thousands of electric vehicles and adding solar and
wind to the electricity grid. They say the push to use advanced
technology will create a new economy of clean energy, good-paying jobs.
Still, lawmakers worry about the practical effects on residents.
Assemblyman
Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove, said when actress Berry spent a recent morning
lobbying lawmakers, he told her he was undecided because solar panels
and electric vehicles have largely benefited wealthier communities.
“I
like the bill, I think it’s good. My kids have asthma. But my
frustration is the amendments are coming in the last nine days of
session and we haven’t even seen them yet,” Cooper said. “I just want to
make sure the middle-class and poor people aren’t left out.”
Complicating
climate change talks in Sacramento are a pair of special legislative
sessions to figure out how to pay for California’s transportation
infrastructure and state-funded health care. Lawmakers also have
hundreds of bills to tackle in the final hours of the legislative
session.
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