Imperial Valley News

 

“California has led the nation and the world when it comes to fighting climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting clean energy,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “And our efforts are not only creating smarter development and healthier communities, they are also advancing the alternative energy and environmental technology sectors and creating green jobs. It is time for the U.S. and the international community to embrace the challenge of climate change and make the transfer from a carbon-based energy system to a carbon-free one because we know our future is in clean power, clean energy and clean technology.”

 

Earlier today, Governor Schwarzenegger also met with Israel Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to facilitate collaborations on alternative energy. The MOU commits California and Israel to foster economic cooperation, facilitate joint industrial research and development and enhance business relationships in the alternative energy and environmental technology sectors.

 

Being a leader in clean energy standards has made California a leader in clean energy investment and green jobs. According to an economic study by the University of California, Berkeley and Next 10, California’s policies will create as many as 403,000 jobs in the next 12 years and household incomes will increase by $48 billion. In the last three years alone, more than $6 billion in venture capital has been pumped into California’s economy, making the Golden State the national leader in the number of clean businesses. Green jobs have also skyrocketed, growing 10 times faster in California than in other areas.

 

California’s leadership on energy and the environment has also influenced national and international policies. In September, the Obama Administration announced the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will adopt a vehicle emissions standard modeled after California’s first-in-the-nation standard and the International Code Council announced the state’s newly adopted Green Building Standards Code will serve as a foundation for commercial buildings worldwide. Furthermore, California participated in the launch of China’s first GHG emissions registry earlier this year.

 

Helping to create a cleaner environment for future generations, Governor Schwarzenegger has led California in enacting many policies to promote clean energy, alternative fuel and green jobs, including:

·         Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS): California’s LCFS requires fuel providers to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels sold in the state, dramatically expanding the market for alternative fuels. To start, the LCFS will reduce carbon content in all passenger vehicle fuels sold in California by at least 10 percent by 2020 and more thereafter.

·         Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS): Governor Schwarzenegger signed an Executive Order directing California Air Resources Board to adopt regulations increasing California’s RPS to 33 percent by 2020.

·         Alternative and Renewable Fuels Vehicle Technology Program:In 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 118 by Former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunezwhich established the Alternative and Renewable Fuels Vehicle Technology Program to fund the Research and Development of new technologies.

·         Sales Tax Exemption for Zero Emission Vehicle Equipment: Last year, the Governor and Treasurer Bill Lockyer created a program to exempt manufacturing equipment for zero emission vehicle manufacturers from sales tax. This exemption is administered through the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority.

·         Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32): AB 32 established a first-in-the-world comprehensive program of regulatory and market mechanisms to achieve real, quantifiable, cost-effective reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. The law will reduce carbon emissions in California to 1990 levels by 2020.

  

The Saban Forum is an annual dialogue between representatives from government and business sectors, policymakers, journalists and academia. The sixth annual Saban Forum, themed “The U.S.-Israel Partnership: Can New Governments Overcome Old Challenges,” convened in Jerusalem, Israel from November 14 through November 16. Many dignitaries from the U.S. and the Middle East participated in this year’s forum, including former President Bill Clinton and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The forum alternates yearly between Jerusalem and Washington, D.C.