California Developing Plans to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions to 1990 Levels

The California Air Resources Board is developing plans that will rollback greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels...and to do that by 2020. KPBS Reporter Ed Joyce has more.

The Global Warming Solutions Act is the first statewide effort to cap greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors of California's economy.

Just how the state will cut those emissions by 2020 is now being determined by the state air resources board.  

Cutting emissions to 1990 levels would be akin to taking 28 million cars off the road.

James Fine is an economist with the Environmental Defense Fund.  He says the law has some good ideas. But Fine says three additional measures would reduce greenhouse gases.

Fine: More fuel-efficient vehicles, lower carbon-intensive fuels and then less vehicle miles traveled all-together for both cars and trucks.

He says incentives are needed to get more of us out of cars and into public transit.

Fine also says future development projects should include more convenient public transportation facilities.
 
Ed Joyce, KPBS News.