Bad news; California is the 12th largest emitter of GHG in the world. Good news; we're the 5th or 6th or 7th largest economy in the world, depending on what day it is and who you read.
California set to cap emissions
by Staff
California is set to introduce tough new legislation to cut greenhouse gas emissions under a deal reached by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
It would make California the first US state to impose a cap on expulsion of carbon dioxide and other gases.
Mr Schwarzenegger reached a deal with the Democrats who control the state legislature, defying the opposition of his fellow Republicans.
He called it "a historic agreement... to combat global warming".
The bill is due to go before a vote in the state assembly and senate before the legislative session closes on Thursday before elections to be held in November.
But the measures may be too little, too late, according to the warnings of a leading US scientist.
Professor John Holdren, the president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, told the BBC that climate change due to human influence is happening faster than predicted.
"We're already experiencing dangerous human disruption of the global climate and we're going to experience more," he said.
He said a catastrophic rise in sea level of four metres could take place within this century.
Huge emitter
Under Mr Schwarzenegger's plan major industries would be required to cut their output of greenhouse gases, and would be able to trade emissions credits.
Overall, California's emissions should be cut by 25% by 2020.
"We can now move forward with developing a market-based system that makes California a world leader in the effort to reduce carbon emissions," the governor said in a statement.
The state, the most populous in the US, is the world's 12th largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
It has taken a lead in environmental issues in the US, and Mr Schwarzenegger has touted his environmental record in his bid for re-election in November.
Last month he signed an accord with British Prime Minister Tony Blair establishing joint research into cleaner-burning fuels and technologies.
But the governor's commitment to emissions caps puts him at odds with the White House.
In the California legislature, too, Republicans demanded a national, not state-by-state approach to climate change.
"Adopting costly and unattainable regulations will drive businesses and jobs out of California into other states and even into other countries with no commitment to improve air quality," said Assembly Republican leader George Plescia.
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