Celebrate AB 32: We May Have Helped on Global Warming Bill
Aug 31, 2006 (From the CalCars-News archive)

On August 30, California's Governor and
legislative leaders reached agreement on final
language for Assembly Bill 32 to make California
the first state to address greenhouse gases
comprehensively. This paves the way for final
passage and signature of the California Global
Warming Solutions Act of 2006. Bringing a plug-in
hybrid to Sacramento at a critical moment as part
of a powerhouse delegation may have helped win the day!

People tell me, "AB 32 gives me hope. So often I
feel the problem is too big. This actually does
something. And states can be a model for action."
In the wake of AB 1493, the bill enacted in 2002
to curb greenhouse gases from cars, and the
Northeast Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that
could reduce power-plant CO2 emissions 24 million
tons, this bill covering the state's entire
economy will reduce them by over 170 million tons.

The campaign for the bill was led by the Natural
Resources Defense Council and the Environmental
Defense Fund, with Environmental Entrepreneurs
founder Bob Epstein devoting most of his life to
the effort for well over a year. (In the halls of
the Capitol, he can say hi to everyone.)

Two weeks ago, we posted a report
<http://www.calcars.org/calcars-news/495.html>
with details about the legislation and the story
of my joining an August 16 Greentech Innovation
Network delegation to Sacramento on behalf of
the bill. You can see a photo of our group at
http://www.calcars.org/globalwarming.html -- the
rest of the page needs an update! When I showed a
photograph of my PHEV parked a few blocks away,
describing it as an example of California
innovation, and picked up the electrical "dongle"
I carry with me to "show the infrastructure,"
legislators all day and and press conference attendees perked up.

The media reported that John Doerr of Kleiner
Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) convincingly
predicted a wave of new clean-energy
technology</a>, saying entrepreneurs "are going
to go out and compete and innovate to bring
enormous solutions to the market" if the bill
became law.
<http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/15293770.htm>

We were hoping our strategically-timed appearance
during final negotiations would counter organized
opponents' contentions that business interests
were unanimously aligned against the bill. Since
then, we heard privately from several sources
that our visit made a big difference. And today,
front-page lead stories in the San Jose Mercury
News and The New York Times confirm that. The
Wall Street Journal goes so far as to say that
Silicon Valley executives made the difference for
the Governor. Excerpts follow (read the the full
articles to hear about the final bill).

You can comment on this posting at CalCars' Blog,
<http://www.hybridcars.com/blogs/power/ab-32-and-silicon-valley>

San Jose Mercury News August 31, 2006 Page 1
Warm welcome for clean air bill
STATE SENATE OKS EMISSIONS CAPS
By Mike Zapler, MediaNews Sacramento Bureau
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/15405158.htm

SACRAMENTO - Republican Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger and Democratic leaders endorsed
landmark legislation Wednesday that could serve
as a national model for combating global warming
and, according to Silicon Valley business
leaders, spur a wave of clean energy technology.

Opinion within the business community is divided.
Some argued that the measure could dramatically
increase energy costs, hurting the state's
business climate and causing some companies to leave California.

``Being the only state to have absolute caps on
carbon emissions puts California at a competitive
disadvantage,'' said Allan Zaremberg, president
and CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce,
predicting the legislation ``will have little
impact on global climate change but a severe
negative impact on California's economy.''

But business interests in Silicon Valley,
including prominent venture capitalist John Doerr
and alternative energy company executives,
lobbied heavily for the bill. They said it would
spur investments in such energy technologies as
solar, wind, coal gasification and fuel cells,
which can produce energy with low or no emissions
of greenhouse gases and other pollutants.

``This is going to make California the center of
innovation in the development and application of
new clean energy technologies,'' said Rod
Beckstrom, chief executive of Palo Alto-based
Carbon Investments. ``There is already huge
interest in it, but there's no question you're
going to see even more money go into the sector.''


The New York Times, Page 1, August 31, 2006
Officials Reach California Deal to Cut Emissions
By FELICITY BARRINGER
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/31/washington/31warming.html

SACRAMENTO, Aug. 30 — California’s political
leaders announced an agreement on Wednesday that
imposes the most sweeping controls on carbon
dioxide emissions in the nation, putting the
state at the forefront of a broad campaign to
curb the man-made causes of climate change despite resistance in Washington.

Business leaders had been divided on the
climate-change measure, with leading venture
capitalists from Silicon Valley openly stumping
for passage, saying the measure will create new
industries and new jobs. The state’s Chamber of
Commerce led the opposition, saying that the
measure would prompt an exodus of industry to
other states without emission controls, while
California would be hamstrung in trying to attract out-of-state businesses.


The Wall Street Journal, August 31, 2006; Page A1
California Pact Would Place Cap On Emissions
Anti-Global-Warming Effort Faces Business Opposition; A Split With Washington
By JEFFREY BALL and JIM CARLTON
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115698162043550028.html

One reason Gov. Schwarzenegger ended up agreeing
to the bill was that some of California's
business community supported it. He began tipping
his support toward the bill after a delegation of
executives from Silicon Valley last week told him
many businesses wanted the bill as a way to
provide them regulatory certainty and for other
reasons, say lobbyists in the statehouse.

You can comment on this posting at CalCars' Blog,
<http://www.hybridcars.com/blogs/power/ab-32-and-silicon-valley>