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Organization: South Coast Air Quality Management District
Date: February 6, 2009
AQMD Board Establishes Air Quality Investment Program for Greenhouse Gases
The Southland's air pollution agency today announced the adoption of
the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Program, which will implement an air quality
investment program for the SoCal Climate Solutions Exchange. This will
encourage voluntary actions and allow the agency to collect funds, pool
those funds and use them to implement greenhouse gas reduction projects
through a competitive bidding process.
In December 2008, AQMD's Governing Board adopted Rules 2700 —
General, and Rule 2701 — SoCal Climate Solutions Exchange, which set up the
administrative structure for the initiative by providing a mechanism to
recognize and quantify reductions by third parties.
Rule 2702 is a voluntary program and since many greenhouse gas
reduction strategies also result in reductions of smog-forming pollutants,
there are additional benefits for the region's air quality.
"This initiative will further accelerate clean air objectives and we are
confident it will also enhance the local economy and potentially bring local
investments, jobs and clean technologies into the area," said William A.
Burke, Ed.D., Governing Board Chairman of the South Coast Air Quality
Management District (AQMD). "We also believe that adopting a local program
can help alleviate some of the concerns individuals have in regards to the
quality of offsets in addressing climate change issues."
Projects would follow protocols approved by the AQMD's Governing Board
as well as the California Air Resources Board for quantifying emissions
reductions. Staff is working on developing additional protocols, which will go
through the public process and could be added to Rules 2701 and 2702
through future rule amendments.
Protocols include forest projects, urban tree planting, and manure
management. Additional local requirements were added for manure
management projects in environmental justice areas.
AQMD's Board today directed its staff to establish guidelines for a
greenhouse gas emissions bank that would pre-fund the emission reductions.
Staff will also require independent audits on randomly selected projects that
have been verified by the AQMD.
The rules provide an option for companies to mitigate greenhouse gas
emissions from projects under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
or other environmental mitigation. Companies or individuals could also use
these reductions to voluntarily offset their "carbon footprint." AQMD will
verify reductions and post information on the agency website.
Fossil-fuel burning and other emissions including methane are now widely
recognized by the scientific community as culprits behind a rapid rise in
carbon dioxide levels in the Earth's atmosphere. Potential climate change
impacts include a 90 percent loss of the Sierra snow pack, the sea level rising
between 22 to 30 inches and three to four times the number of heat wave
days. Health problems are also expected to result from global warming.
In other action today, the AQMD Board:
• 'Awarded a total of $716,000 to Neuton Lawnmower and Black & Decker to
jointly conduct AQMD's seventh annual Lawn Mower Exchange Program to
exchange 4,000 highly polluting gasoline mowers for new, zero-emission
battery electric models; and
• 'Awarded $85,000 to AFV Fleet Service to conduct a two-year pilot program
to demonstrate the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) powered vehicles as
police interceptors in the cities of Redlands and South Pasadena. Each city
will use one Crown Victoria vehicle converted to run on CNG during the pilot
program.
