What's next? Our own California embassies?

Remember that thing called the U.S. State Department, which used to be involved in negotiating international agreements? It still exists, but since President Bush isn't very interested in messy multi-lateral agreements on global warming, California leaders are negotiating directly with their European counterparts.
Cal-EPA Secretary Linda Adams -- otherwise known as the Condolezza Rice of California carbon diplomacy -- is now shuttling through European capitals. While in Brussels, Reuters quoted her as saying that California will need to link its planned trading system for greenhouse emissions with one Europe is developing.
Next we may see Adams shuttling to less chic corners of the world.
"California and the European Union can't solve this problem alone," Adams is quoted as saying. "We think working together and working with China and India and other countries will lead to a solution."

Cal climate delegation off to Europe

Call it a study mission or some CO2 shuttle diplomacy, but a California delegation that includes Gov. Schwarzenegger's top environmental officials, lawmakers and other officials have departed this week for Europe to meet with the EU's top climate officials.
The itinerary first takes them to Brussels, where they will confab with the International Emissions Trading Association, European Parliamentarians and officials with the Kyoto member states.
They then head to Bonn, Germany to meet with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat and the International Verifiers Roundtable. (The latter group could be considered the Dick Tracy of carbon trading. Its job is to make sure that industries claiming to have reduced carbon emissions -- and are selling credits because of it -- aren't cooking the books.)
Then it is off to London to meet with parliamentarians, industry representatives, the Emissions Trading Group and others.
I'm tempted to make some snarky comments about "junkets," etc., but it behooves California leader to learn about Europe's trials and errors in developing a market to trade emissions. They could do that by reading reports but candid discussions will likely be much more valuable. And they happen to sample a little Belgian ale while in Brussels, well, what's so wrong with that?
For the record, this blogger wanted to join (and was graciously invited by Cal-EPA Secretary Linda Adams) but couldn't put together the necessary Euros.
I'll try to get a full report from the diplomats once they return.

"Need to develop something that all of the public understands"

The Assembly Natural Resources Committee didn't seem very convinced this week that the Schwarzenegger administration has clear and bold plans for implementing the state's main global warming law, Assembly Bill 32, according to a recent report by Samantha Young of Associated Press.
At a hearing Monday, lawmakers asked for more info on a recently announced low carbon fuels standard that Schwarzenegger has touted as an "early action measure" to reduce greenhouse gases.
"A lot of the language we're using here is very fuzzy," said Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, chair of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. "I think we really need to develop something that all of the public understands."
Amen on that one, Loni. AB 32 may be monumental law, but the jargon that flows from this legislation makes the state tax code seem like a easy read.
I suggest that the Air Resources Board post a glossary on their climate web site. If they don't, we'll post one on Power Play.

The goal -- no more coal

The California Energy Commission is close to finalizing regulations that effectively will ban the state's municipal utilities from purchasing long-term power contracts from out-of-state coal-fired power plants.
The CEC's action, scheduled for an April 25 meeting in Sacramento, is another step in implementing Senate Bill 1368, one of two major laws passed last year to reduce greenhouse gases.
The Public Utilities Commission has already passed its own SB 1368 regulations that apply to investor owned utilities, and now the CEC is preparing to do the same for the ones it regulates, which include the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and 37 other "munis" and small utilities across the state.
Several in Southern California, particularly Los Angeles Power and Water and utilities in Pasadena, Burbank and Anaheim, will be hit hard by the new rules. All get more than 4o percent of their electricity from out-of-state coal power.
As a result, these munis are lobbying the energy commission and urging it not to adopt the same tough rules handed down by the Public Utilities Commission.
Among other things, the PUC is requiring its utilities -- PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric -- not to finalize future power contracts until the PUC has reviewed them and certified them as complying with the new state law. By contrast, the munis want to enter into power contracts without prior CEC approval, with the energy commission only intervening if they found some problem after the fact.
Not surprisingly, environmentalists are protesting this aspect of the commission's rules. They believe it puts the burden on the CEC's limited staff to ferret out problems post facto, instead of forcing the munis to come to Sacramento before any contracts are signed and demonstrate their compliance with the law.
Key players here could be Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaragosa, who has a measure of control over LA Power and Water, and State Senate leader Don Perata, who authored SB 1368 and has control over the budget of the California Energy Commission.
You can read the proposed regs, and filings by the enviros and the munis here.