1.11.2007
Bol Move on Global Warming (SFGate.com)
A WORLD FIRST: California governor to order new standard to reduce carbon content of motor fuels
Greg Lucas, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
(01-10) 04:00 PST Sacramento -- California will create the world's first global warming pollution standard for transportation fuels, ratcheting down fuel carbon content 10 percent by 2020 under a plan put forward by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Tuesday in his State of the State address.
The new standard could have implications for the auto industry and change the way gasoline is produced around the globe. Environmentalists hailed it as a way to reduce one of the state's chief sources of greenhouse gas emissions and kick-start fledgling alternative fuel technologies.
"This is a big deal. This policy will be noticed worldwide," said Eric Heitz, president of the Energy Foundation, which monitors the world's energy technology.
Advocates of the proposal said competition from alternative fuels and a reduction in dependence on oil would prevent gasoline prices from rising, but oil companies said changing the mix of fuels to reduce carbon emissions would carry a cost.
"I can't predict what the price will do. All these decisions we will be making going forward will be difficult. There will be economic consequences somewhere," said Cathy Reheis-Boyd, Sacramento lobbyist for the Western States Petroleum Association. "How much and who they're allocated to remains to be seen."
The plan gives the makers of gasoline and diesel fuel discretion in how they reach the target. They can either reformulate their fuel or increase use of alternative fuels such as ethanol, natural gas and hydrogen.
(More ... San Francisco Chronicle > News)
Greg Lucas, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
(01-10) 04:00 PST Sacramento -- California will create the world's first global warming pollution standard for transportation fuels, ratcheting down fuel carbon content 10 percent by 2020 under a plan put forward by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Tuesday in his State of the State address.
The new standard could have implications for the auto industry and change the way gasoline is produced around the globe. Environmentalists hailed it as a way to reduce one of the state's chief sources of greenhouse gas emissions and kick-start fledgling alternative fuel technologies.
"This is a big deal. This policy will be noticed worldwide," said Eric Heitz, president of the Energy Foundation, which monitors the world's energy technology.
Advocates of the proposal said competition from alternative fuels and a reduction in dependence on oil would prevent gasoline prices from rising, but oil companies said changing the mix of fuels to reduce carbon emissions would carry a cost.
"I can't predict what the price will do. All these decisions we will be making going forward will be difficult. There will be economic consequences somewhere," said Cathy Reheis-Boyd, Sacramento lobbyist for the Western States Petroleum Association. "How much and who they're allocated to remains to be seen."
The plan gives the makers of gasoline and diesel fuel discretion in how they reach the target. They can either reformulate their fuel or increase use of alternative fuels such as ethanol, natural gas and hydrogen.
(More ... San Francisco Chronicle > News)
Labels: Climate Change, San Francisco Chronicle, Schwarzenegger
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