Laserfiche WebLink
Administrative Draft Environmental Impact Report <br /> Gill Medical Center Project <br /> 4.10.1.2 Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions <br /> In 2019, CARB released the 2019 edition of the California GHG inventory covering calendar year 2017 <br /> emissions. In 2017, California emitted 424.1 million gross metric tons of CO2e including from imported <br /> electricity. Combustion of fossil fuel in the transportation sector was the single largest source of <br /> California's GHG emissions in 2017, accounting for approximately 41 percent of total GHG emissions in <br /> the state. This sector was followed by the industrial sector(24 percent) and the electric power sector <br /> including both in- and out-of-state sources (15 percent) (CARB 2019). Emissions of CO2 are by-products <br /> of fossil fuel combustion. CH4, a highly potent GHG, primarily results from off-gassing (the release of <br /> chemicals from nonmetallic substances under ambient or greater pressure conditions) and is largely <br /> associated with agricultural practices and landfills. N20 is also largely attributable to agricultural practices <br /> and soil management. CO2 sinks, or reservoirs, include vegetation and the ocean, which absorb CO2 <br /> through sequestration and dissolution (CO2 dissolving into the water), respectively, two of the most <br /> common processes for removing CO2 from the atmosphere. <br /> 4.10.2 Regulatory Setting <br /> 4.10.2.1 State <br /> Executive Order S-3-05 <br /> Executive Order (EO) S-3-05, signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005, proclaims that <br /> California is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. It declares that increased temperatures could <br /> reduce the Sierra Nevada snowpack, further exacerbate California's air quality problems, and potentially <br /> cause a rise in sea levels.To combat those concerns, the EO established total GHG emission targets for the <br /> state. Specifically, emissions are to be reduced to the 2000 level by 2010, the 1990 level by 2020, and to <br /> 80 percent below the 1990 level by 2050. <br /> While dated, this EO remains relevant because a more recent California Appellate Court decision, <br /> Cleveland National Forest Foundation v. San Diego Association of Governments (2014) 231 Cal.AppAth <br /> 1056, examined whether it should be viewed as having the equivalent force of a legislative mandate for <br /> specific emissions reductions. While the California Supreme Court ruled that the San Diego Association of <br /> Governments did not abuse its discretion by declining to adopt the 2050 goal as a measure of significance <br /> in light of the fact that the EO does not specify any plan or implementation measures to achieve its goal, <br /> the decision also recognized that the goal of a 40 percent reduction in 1990 GHG levels by 2030 is "widely <br /> acknowledged" as a "necessary interim target to ensure that California meets its longer-range goal of <br /> reducing GHG emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050. <br /> Assembly Bill 32 Climate Change Scoping Plan and Updates <br /> In 2006, the California legislature passed Assembly Bill (AB) 32 (Health and Safety Code § 38500 et seq., or <br /> AB 32), also known as the Global Warming Solutions Act. AB 32 requires CARB to design and implement <br /> feasible and cost-effective emission limits, regulations, and other measures, such that statewide GHG <br /> emissions are reduced to 1990 levels by 2020 (representing a 25 percent reduction in emissions). AB 32 <br /> anticipates that the GHG reduction goals will be met, in part, through local government actions. CARB has <br /> Greenhouse Gas and Climate Change 4.10-3 October 2021 <br />