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The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is today expected to adopt the most radical global warming plan in the U.S., and possibly the world. If passed, it will force individuals, as well as the state’s utilities, refineries and large factories to fundamentally change the way they do business, and slash greenhouse gas emissions.

The plan will outline for the first time how people and businesses will be required to meet the state’s 2006 ‘Global Warming Solutions Act’ and transform California into a global leader in the fight against climate change.

The board will be in session all day to consider approval of the AB 32 Scoping Plan to Reduce GHG Emissions in California.

Key aspects of the plan include:

The creation of a carbon-credit ‘cap and trade’ market designed to give the state’s major polluters cheaper ways to cut emissions;

A Low Carbon Fuel standard;

Stringent transport related greenhouse gas targets;

A target of generating 33% of the states’s electricity from renewable energy by 2020;

Ambitious vehicle efficiency measures;

Implementation of a high speed rail system;

A radical green building strategy.

It seems that, at least for today, the eyes of the global environmental movement will be firmly fixed on what unfolds in Sacramento…

Image Credit – Michael Dunn~! via flickr.com on a Creative Commons license