California Land Use, Environmental & Real Estate Lawyer & Attorney : Abbott & Kindermann Law Firm : Sacramento, CA

By Leslie Z. Walker

On June 26, 2008, the California Air Resources Board (“ARB”) released a draft of the scoping plan required under Assembly Bill 32 (Chapter 488, Statutes 2006), the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (“AB 32”). AB 32 requires greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions be reduced to 1990 levels by 2020. (Health & Saf. Code, § 38550.) In order to accomplish this, ARB had to determine, by January 1, 2008, what the statewide greenhouse gas emission level was in 1990. (Id.) By January 1, 2009, ARB must prepare and adopt a scoping plan which achieves required reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. (Health & Saf. Code, § 38561.) A draft of this scoping plan was released on June 26, 2006.

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By Leslie Z. Walker

CEQA practitioners have spent the last year anxiously anticipating the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) advice to local agencies on the evaluation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and their effect on climate change in the CEQA process. On June 19, 2008, OPR offered a peek at its perspective by issuing the Technical Advisory CEQA and Climate Change: Addressing Climate Change Through California Environmental Quality Act Review.

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Attorney General Jerry Brown has “1,100 lawyers standing by and they’re looking for someone to sue,” according to the Sacramento Bee. A March 31, 2008 article quoted the Attorney General discussing “his determination to go to court to enforce California laws to cut pollutants blamed for global warming.”

See Abbott & Kindermann’s review of the first of the Attorney General’s five conferences entitled CEQA and Climate Change: Partnering with Local Agencies to Combat Global Warming.

Leslie Walker is an associate with Abbott & Kindermann, LLP.  For questions relating to this article or any other California land use, environmental and planning issues contact Abbott & Kindermann, LLP at (916) 456-9595.

The information presented in this article should not be construed to be formal legal advice by Abbott & Kindermann, LLP, nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. Because of the changing nature of this area of the law and the importance of individual facts, readers are encouraged to seek independent counsel for advice regarding their individual legal issues.

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By Leslie Z. Walker

The California Attorney General and the Local Government Commission hosted the first of five statewide workshops, CEQA and Climate Change: Partnering with Local Agencies to Combat Global Warming, on Thursday, March 20, 2008. In his invitation to cities and counties across the state, the Attorney General explained that planning for Climate Change should not await the 2012 implementation of binding Greenhouse Gas (“GHG”) emission limits and emission reduction measures required by AB 32. At the workshop, the Attorney General reiterated his position that CEQA requires GHG analysis. The line-up of morning speakers, who discussed thresholds, modeling emissions and mitigation measures, suggested that since tools exist to measure and mitigate GHGs, agencies are required to do so.

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By Leslie Z. Walker

On January 29, 2008, Judge Thomas Cahraman of the Riverside Superior Court ruled that CEQA did not require the Banning City Council to consider the Global Warming impacts of a project approved prior to the enactment of AB 32.

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By Leslie Z. Walker

On November 30, 2007 the San Diego Association of Governments (“SANDAG”) adopted its 2030 Regional Transportation Plan (“RTP”) over Attorney General Jerry Brown’s criticism that the Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) for the RTP “does not fully address the impacts on global warming of the project.” 

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By Leslie Z. Walker

Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB 97 (Chapter 185, Statutes 2007) Senator Dutton’s CEQA and greenhouse gas emission bill, into law on August 24.  The legislation provides partial guidance on how greenhouse gases (“GHGs”) should be addressed in certain CEQA documents.

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By Leslie Z. Walker

Attorney General Jerry Brown and the County of San Bernardino have reached a landmark settlement in the state’s global warming suit against the County. 

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