California off track for 80 percent carbon cut

November 6, 2013

arnold1arnold1arnold1pismoCalifornia will fall short of its 2050 greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal if the state does not adopt aggressive measures to fight climate changer, a U.S. Department of Energy report says. [LA Times]

The state is on pace to comply with AB 32 by reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases to 1990 levels by 2020, according to the report Department of Energy report released Monday. But, California is not on target to achieve a 2050 carbon emissions reduction goal set by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In 2005, Schwarzenegger issued Executive Order S-3-05, which mandates emissions reductions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

“It is a very ambitious target and we can’t get there with existing policies and technologies,” said Jeffrey Greenblatt, a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory employee, who wrote the report.

The study found that even under the state’s most ambitious plans, in which 51 percent of California electricity would come from renewable sources and vehicles would average 78 miles per gallon, greenhouse gas emissions would remain more than twice as high as the 2050 target.

Under such circumstances, California would release 188 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2050. The Schwarzenegger executive order mandates releasing no more than 85 million metric tons.

In 2011, emissions totaled 448 million metric tons.

 


Loading...
10 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

CARB and the Local Air District are only in it for the money. They just love to ruin our businesses. I can buy the cleanest running piece of equipment available and the idiots still want to pollute and come inspect it and charge me some dumb fee.


Please be specific: What “equipment” are you running and what “dumb fee” have you been required to pay.


And I really doubt anyone in government loves to ruin your business, unless it is continually breaking the law.


I grew up in LA and Orange County in the 60’s and the air is cleaner now than it was then. If you want to solve something go to China and India and clean up their air!


Think globally, ACT locally. You got it half-right, at least.


There is really no stopping these people. They’ve been with us for so long… and we were supposed to be ended time and time again, but we still keep on chuggin’ along.


They have to give reason for their paychecks and benefits, I suppose. It’s harder to have confiscatory tax rates to cover these guys if all they did was report that everything was fine…


Everything is NOT fine. Get real, please.


Can’t be done; too many farm animals flatulating into the atmosphere.


Stop eating animal flesh and let the meat industry shrivel and we will all breathe easier.


Darn it…we had a real good chance to save the planet. Oh well…maybe next year.