sidriptide
nobody of any consequence
- Location
- western massachusetts
i got this thru a land-use mailing list. i thought Massachusetts was full of beurocracy!
**************************************************
Thursday, December 8, 2005 (AP)
Gasoline fee needed to fund global warming measures, panel says
By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer
(12-08) 17:44 PST SACRAMENTO, (AP) --
California should impose a transportation fee — perhaps an
added tax
on gasoline — to reduce consumption of petroleum products and pay
for measures to cut greenhouse gases, top advisers told Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers on Thursday.
A so-called "public goods charge" on gasoline would be similar to the
fee
on electricity bills that pays for energy-efficiency programs. If a
proportional fee was imposed at the pump, consumers would pay about 2.5
cents more per gallon.
The draft recommendations by top administration officials are the
first
attempt to say how California can meet Schwarzenegger's ambitious pledge
to cut pollution believed to contribute to global warming.
On June 1, Schwarzenegger set goals of reducing greenhouse-gas
emissions.
He wants emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, with
intermediate
benchmarks in 2010 and 2020.
The 130-page draft report by his Climate Action Team says the best
way to
reduce emissions is to tax gasoline as a way of cutting consumption. The
revenue also would pay for methods to reduce or clean up the
environmental
damage caused by burning petroleum.
"Petroleum — particularly petroleum used for transportation
—
is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in California," said Mike
Wintemute, a deputy secretary of the California Environmental Protection
Agency.
The recommendations were developed by top officials of the state EPA,
Resources Agency, Air Resources Board, Public Utilities Commission,
Energy
Commission and Food and Agriculture Department.
A similar transportation fee has previously been proposed by the
California Energy Commission. The Public Utilities Commission imposes a
similar public goods charge on electricity use.
The report does not put a price tag on meeting Schwarzenegger's
goals.
Those cost estimates have been delayed until next month.
"There are costs involved, and there is an investment on the front
end,"
said Wintemute. "But the payoff in the end to consumers is substantial
— in the tens of billions of dollars."
Thursday's recommendations came as California was being portrayed as
a
world leader in trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during a
United
Nations climate conference in Montreal. The state is the world's 12th
largest greenhouse gas emitter.
A transportation fee is one of several recommendations the panel says
are
crucial to meeting Schwarzenegger's goals.
The state also should encourage development and use of
emissions-reduction
technology by California businesses.
"California's industries can meet these measures through innovation
and
technology, paving the way for a new energy economy," said Karen
Douglas,
director of the California Global Warming Project at Environmental
Defense.
The report says California first must collect emissions data as a
baseline
so the state can determine if it is meeting Schwarzenegger's goals. That
data would later be used to set emissions caps in 2010 and 2020, and a
trading program where businesses could buy and sell emissions credits if
they fall short of or exceed the caps.
California should also invest its public pensions and other money in
technology aimed at reducing emissions of harmful pollutants. Developing
that kind of technology also should be a priority for the state's
universities.
Finally, the state should encourage businesses to voluntarily cut
emissions by keeping track of their reductions. Those companies would
get
credit for their reductions now if mandatory caps are adopted later.
Three public hearings are set in Sacramento and Los Angeles before
the
final report goes to Schwarzenegger and lawmakers next month.
____
On the Net:
Read the draft report at:
www.climatechange.ca.gov/climate_action_team/reports/index.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2005 AP
**************************************************
Thursday, December 8, 2005 (AP)
Gasoline fee needed to fund global warming measures, panel says
By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer
(12-08) 17:44 PST SACRAMENTO, (AP) --
California should impose a transportation fee — perhaps an
added tax
on gasoline — to reduce consumption of petroleum products and pay
for measures to cut greenhouse gases, top advisers told Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers on Thursday.
A so-called "public goods charge" on gasoline would be similar to the
fee
on electricity bills that pays for energy-efficiency programs. If a
proportional fee was imposed at the pump, consumers would pay about 2.5
cents more per gallon.
The draft recommendations by top administration officials are the
first
attempt to say how California can meet Schwarzenegger's ambitious pledge
to cut pollution believed to contribute to global warming.
On June 1, Schwarzenegger set goals of reducing greenhouse-gas
emissions.
He wants emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, with
intermediate
benchmarks in 2010 and 2020.
The 130-page draft report by his Climate Action Team says the best
way to
reduce emissions is to tax gasoline as a way of cutting consumption. The
revenue also would pay for methods to reduce or clean up the
environmental
damage caused by burning petroleum.
"Petroleum — particularly petroleum used for transportation
—
is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in California," said Mike
Wintemute, a deputy secretary of the California Environmental Protection
Agency.
The recommendations were developed by top officials of the state EPA,
Resources Agency, Air Resources Board, Public Utilities Commission,
Energy
Commission and Food and Agriculture Department.
A similar transportation fee has previously been proposed by the
California Energy Commission. The Public Utilities Commission imposes a
similar public goods charge on electricity use.
The report does not put a price tag on meeting Schwarzenegger's
goals.
Those cost estimates have been delayed until next month.
"There are costs involved, and there is an investment on the front
end,"
said Wintemute. "But the payoff in the end to consumers is substantial
— in the tens of billions of dollars."
Thursday's recommendations came as California was being portrayed as
a
world leader in trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during a
United
Nations climate conference in Montreal. The state is the world's 12th
largest greenhouse gas emitter.
A transportation fee is one of several recommendations the panel says
are
crucial to meeting Schwarzenegger's goals.
The state also should encourage development and use of
emissions-reduction
technology by California businesses.
"California's industries can meet these measures through innovation
and
technology, paving the way for a new energy economy," said Karen
Douglas,
director of the California Global Warming Project at Environmental
Defense.
The report says California first must collect emissions data as a
baseline
so the state can determine if it is meeting Schwarzenegger's goals. That
data would later be used to set emissions caps in 2010 and 2020, and a
trading program where businesses could buy and sell emissions credits if
they fall short of or exceed the caps.
California should also invest its public pensions and other money in
technology aimed at reducing emissions of harmful pollutants. Developing
that kind of technology also should be a priority for the state's
universities.
Finally, the state should encourage businesses to voluntarily cut
emissions by keeping track of their reductions. Those companies would
get
credit for their reductions now if mandatory caps are adopted later.
Three public hearings are set in Sacramento and Los Angeles before
the
final report goes to Schwarzenegger and lawmakers next month.
____
On the Net:
Read the draft report at:
www.climatechange.ca.gov/climate_action_team/reports/index.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2005 AP
