California caps greenhouse gas emissions

SAN FRANCISCO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday signed into law a sweeping global warming initiative that imposes the nation’s first cap on greenhouse gas emissions, saying the effort kicks off “a bold new era of environmental protection.”

Standing on picturesque Treasure Island with San Francisco’s skyline in the background, Schwarzenegger called the fight against global warming one of the most important issues of modern times.

“We simply must do everything we can in our power to slow down global warming before it is too late,” Schwarzenegger said.

Schwarzenegger’s Democratic opponent in the November election, state treasurer Phil Angelides, also supports the new law.

It imposes a first-in-the-nation emissions cap on utilities, refineries and manufacturing plants in a bid to curb the gases that scientists blame for warming the Earth. Two years ago, a state board adopted tight regulations on automobile tailpipe emissions, an initiative that is being challenged in federal court by automakers.

Schwarzenegger also was expected to sign a second Democrat-sponsored global warming bill with consequences beyond the state’s borders. That bill will prohibit California’s large utilities and corporations from entering long-term power contracts with suppliers whose electricity sources do not meet the state’s greenhouse gas emission standards.

The measure by Sen. President Pro Tem Don Perata is intended to force coal plants in the western U.S. to install cleaner technologies.

California’s efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions from industry and automobiles are part of a goal to reduce the state’s emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, an estimated 25 percent reduction. California is the world’s 12th largest producer of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, which scientists say are trapping heat in the Earth’s atmosphere.