FEATURE ARTICLE

November 2006

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The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006—Taking on Global Warming by Legislating Reductions in Greenhouse Emissions

Setting aside the fierce debates concerning global warming, California has stepped forward to lead the charge on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. On September 27, 2006, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which mandates that California reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, a reduction of approximately 25 percent. California’s lead on decreasing greenhouse gas emissions gives it the opportunity to become the model if and when greenhouse gas emissions reductions are adopted in other states, or at the federal level. A failure in California, however, could have the same effect as California’s disastrous efforts at electricity deregulation—other states pursuing such efforts could abandon them in an effort to avoid California’s fate.