Schwarzenegger to back emissions cap for California

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has endorsed a cap on emissions of greenhouse gases and a market-based system of incentives to help industries cut emissions.

Such programs are used extensively by electricity producers in Europe. They allow greenhouse gas producers who exceed emission levels to buy credits from producers who have reduced their pollutants.

The Republican governor laid out his strategy to cut back levels of gases linked to global warming at a summit in San Francisco recently bringing together legislators, business executives, government regulators, economists and environmentalists.

Governor Schwarzenegger will make his "strongest commitment yet to make California a leader in regulating emissions that most scientists believe are causing climate changes that could have disastrous consequences."

The governor, who set emissions reduction goals a year ago, also will back a "cap and trade" system that would establish financial incentives to reduce emissions, the Los Angeles Times said. The plan calls for two years of study to design the program.

A "Climate Action Team" of environmental advisors recommended a series of new clean-air programs recently to Schwarzenegger, and state lawmakers also introduced a bill to reduce emissions by 25 percent by 2020.

The climate report said the emissions reduction target for 2020 "should be the basis for an emissions cap."

The report also called for mandatory reporting of emissions levels by the largest polluting industries - oil and gas exploration and production, oil refining, electric power, cement manufacturing and solid waste landfills.

Some business groups and utilities support parts of the climate strategy but others like the California Manufacturers and Technology Association oppose emissions caps, saying they would harm California's economy.