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Please consider the following news release from the California
Air Resources Board:

http://www.arb.ca.gov/newsrel/newsrelease.php?id=906

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 23, 2017

NEWS RELEASE 17-17



CONTACT:

Stanley Young
(916) 322-2990 Office
(916) 956-9409
stanley.young@arb.ca.gov

Dave Clegern
(916) 322-2990
dave.clegern@arb.ca.gov


CARB approves broad plan for reducing climate “super pollutants”

Reductions in short-lived climate pollutants enhance 2030 climate
efforts


RIVERSIDE- The California Air Resources Board today adopted a new
plan to curb destructive super pollutants including black carbon,
fluorinated gases and methane. The plan, California’s Short-lived
Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy, maps out the route to more
rapid greenhouse gas reductions by clamping down on these super
pollutants.

Super pollutants have more potent heat-trapping effects but
remain in the atmosphere for a shorter time than carbon dioxide.
Reducing these pollutants can have a more immediate beneficial
impact on climate change – and reduces harmful toxins, such as
cancer-causing particulates, in California communities.


Short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) make up about 12 percent
of GHG emissions, but strong actions to reduce them could help
reduce global warming by as much as 40 percent.


“This plan to curb super pollutants will accelerate reaching our
2030 goal of a 40 percent reduction in GHG emissions below 1990
levels,” said CARB Chair Mary D. Nichols. “This plan will also
help reduce nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, and fine
particle pollution.”


The SLCP Strategy is a critical part of California’s
emission-reduction framework being developed in the draft
Proposed 2030 Scoping Plan. The framework also includes the
Cap-and-Trade Program, the Mobile Source Strategy, the Advanced
Clean Car Program, the Renewables Portfolio Standard and the Low
Carbon Fuel Standard.


A key piece of the SLCP Strategy is a new regulation aimed at
reducing methane leaks from oil and gas operations. It requires
emissions-capture technology and stricter monitoring and
reporting of potential methane leaks as a means of isolating and
fixing them more quickly. That rule, which the Board will take up
later today, will be fully in effect by 2020.


The SLCP Strategy also reduces hydrofluorocarbons, traditionally
used in refrigeration, air conditioning, insulation and
propellants. Substitutes for HFCs are growing in use and continue
to be developed. CARB’s efforts are expected to result in HFC
reductions of 25 percent below business-as-usual emissions by
2020. CARB is currently preparing a detailed analysis of future
HFC emissions which will undergo a third-party review.


Last fall, Governor Brown Signed SB 1383 by Senator Ricardo Lara
(D-Bell Gardens), an ex-officio CARB board member. SB 1383 sets
targets for reductions in methane emissions of 40 percent below
2013 levels by 2030, a 40 percent reduction in HFCs and a 50
percent reduction in black carbon. SB 1383 also provides general
guidance for regulation of short-lived climate pollutants and
requires the Board to complete and approve a plan by January 1,
2018.


CARB began publicly evaluating controls for SLCPs with the first
AB 32 Scoping Plan in 2008 and has held at least 10 workshops and
public hearings to gather input. Since then Governor Brown signed
SB 32, codifying a reduction target for statewide GHG emissions
of 40 percent below 1990 emission levels by 2030. SLCP emission
reductions will support achieving this target.


The major sources of methane are livestock, particularly dairy
cattle; landfills; and the oil and gas industry. Livestock is
responsible for 55 percent of methane emissions. The SLCP
Strategy calls for capturing methane from manure at large
dairies, pursuing opportunities to reduce methane emissions from
enteric fermentation, significantly reducing disposal of organics
in landfills, and reducing methane emissions from oil and gas
operations. 


California has already reduced black carbon emissions 90 percent
since the 1970s, largely through the state’s stringent diesel
regulations. The SLCP Strategy will rely on a variety of tools,
including putting zero-emission vehicles on the road and into
ports and rail yards, more mass transit, cleaning up woodstoves,
and cleaner fuels.

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