California drops 50pc petroleum use cut idea

OREANDA-NEWS. September 11, 2015.  California lawmakers yesterday removed a proposed 50pc cut in petroleum use from broader energy legislation in hopes of improving the bill's chances for passage.

The decision prompted governor Jerry Brown (D) to say he will pursue the same goal through existing regulatory authorities, while continuing to pressure the legislature to put it into state law.

"My zeal has been magnified to a maximum degree," Brown said. "Oil has won a skirmish but they have lost the bigger battle, because I am more determined than ever to make our regulatory regime work for the people of California, cleaning the air, reducing the petroleum, and creating the green jobs."

Senior lawmakers said dropping the petroleum use reduction from SB 350 would make it easier to pass the bill, which includes mandates to increase renewable energy use to 50pc by 2030 and double the energy efficiency of buildings by the same year.

"We raced for the Triple Crown but, with the clock ticking, the stakes are way too high to allow the perfect to be the enemy of the great," Senate president pro tempore Kevin De Leon (D) said.

Brown said oil companies suggested they would accept the 50pc cut if lawmakers scrapped the state's Low-Carbon Fuel Standard or agreed to put new greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations to a vote by the legislature, but he rejected the proposals.

"The [climate] regime in California remains strong and with integrity," Brown said.

Democrats hold strong majorities in both chambers of the legislature, and SB 350 easily passed the state Senate in June. But it has run into resistance from a block of moderate Democrats in the Assembly, who are concerned by the authority state regulators have amassed under previous legislation to address climate change. The lawmakers are also worried about how the petroleum use cut would affect rural areas without significant public transit.

The petroleum use mandate is considered a key policy objective by Brown and other lawmakers because California already has fairly clean electricity and industrial sectors, leaving transportation as the challenge for the state to meet its long-term climate goals. State regulators also say it will be nearly impossible to meet federal air quality standards in parts of southern California without moving away from petroleum-based fuels in the transportation sector.

SB 32, the other major climate policy bill moving through the legislature, would give the state Air Resources Board (ARB) broad authority to continue its programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including several measures that directly and indirectly seek to cut petroleum use in favor of alternatives. SB 32 passed the Senate in June but has also struggled to get through the Assembly, even after supporters added language to allow the legislature to review and amend ARB's strategy for reducing GHG emissions 40pc below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80pc by 2050.