Regulations directing utilities and oil refineries to reach specified greenhouse gas reduction levels along with a carbon fee should be used in place of a market-driven cap-and-trade program, a coalition of environmental justice organizations declared February 19. They say this strategy will be far more effective at meeting the mandates of California’s climate protection law, AB 32. “Regulation has been proven to reduce emissions” while cap-and-trade has “allowed companies to dodge firm requirements,” said Bill Gallegos, Communities for a Better Environment executive director. In breaking with many mainstream environmental groups, the coalition of 21 organizations argued that regulation--not emissions trading--would best spur needed technological innovation. Such rules would specify how much businesses would have to cut emissions by certain dates based on use of best practices and best available technologies. They also said regulations and a carbon fee would spur direct investment in California, as well as ancillary reductions in smog-forming and toxic pollution. “There is pretty widespread agreement among economists” that a carbon fee would be one of the most effective means of getting companies and individuals to cut greenhouse gas emissions, said Angela Johnson Meszaros, co-chair of the California Air Resources Board’s Environmental Justice Advisory Committee That is because it would provide a direct incentive to cut emissions, coalition members said. Johnson Meszaros has criticized relying on a cap-and-trade scheme to carry out AB 32--the state law that aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Gallegos said the coalition plans to seek support for its alternatives from labor unions, lawmakers, and more grass roots organizations and activists in the coming months as the Air Board writes its plan for carrying out AB 32. Air Board spokesperson Stanley Young responded that the agency is considering a carbon fee and has not yet decided whether to allow emissions trading. If it does, he noted, it may play a small role in a broader set of regulations under the law, including direct regulations of specific sectors of the economy. The coalition also wants the Legislature and regulators to boost California’s reliance on renewable energy and require greater energy efficiency to cut the need for fossil fuel power plants. For instance, it voiced support for legislation and plans by the California Public Utilities Commission to boost the state’s renewable energy requirement for utilities from 20 percent to 33 percent. It further called for rules that require oil refineries and other facilities to cut emissions. Editor’s note: For a more detailed report on the environmental justice coalition, please see our sister publication E=MC2- Energy Meets Climate Challenge. You can find it at energymeetsclimate.com
