The New York Times
August 30, 2006

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

The deal between the Democratic-controlled Legislature and the Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, calls for a 25 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2020, and could establish controls on the largest industrial sectors, including utilities, oil refineries and cement plants. The state has already placed strict limits on automobile emissions, although that move is being challenged in federal court.

The Bush administration has rejected the idea of similar national controls on carbon dioxide emissions, and efforts to get Congressional approval for such firm caps on emissions have repeatedly been defeated.

The first major controls are scheduled to begin in 2012, with the aim of reducing the emissions to their level in 1990. The legislation allows for incentives to businesses to help reach the goals, but opponents warn that the state may be sacrificing its economic interests for a quixotic goal.

"If our manufacturers leave, whether for North Carolina or China, and they take their greenhouse gases with them, we might not have solved the problem but exacerbated it instead," said Allan Zaremberg, the president of the state's Chamber of Commerce.

Since taking office in 2003, Schwarzenegger, who is seeking reelection in November, has championed efforts to fight climate change, most recently by signing an agreement with Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain to do cooperative research on new clean-energy technologies.

The governor said that the deal struck with the Democrats would make "California a world leader in the effort to reduce carbon emissions."

"The success of our system will be an example for other states and nations to follow as the fight against climate change continues," Schwarzenegger added.

Source:Felicity Berringer, The New York Times, August 30,2006

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