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"If you are against taking action on greenhouse gases and carbon emissions, your political base will melt away as surely as the polar icecaps. ... You will become a political penguin on a smaller and smaller ice floe that is driftng out to sea."

It’s a big green week for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He’s on the cover of Newsweek magazine’s save the planet issue, is the keynote speaker of the magazine’s global environmental leadership conference in Washington, and addresses the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. And the British Conservative Party chose the week of his Newsweek cover status to announce that he will headline their annual party conference this fall.

Arnold Schwarzenegger will address the annual conference of Britain's Conservative Party, with the party citing the California governor's commitment to the environment - an issue the British opposition hopes to claim for its own. David Cameron, the Conservative leader, has been attempting to reposition his party - once led by Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill - in the centre, to the dismay of some of the Conservative faithful. But the party, which last won a general election 15 years ago, has seen an increase in support in some polls in Britain, where the government is dominated by Prime Minister Tony...

Slashing greenhouse gases from California's gasoline in the next 14 years will reformulate not just our fuel but quite possibly our entire notion of the California dream, changing what we drive, how we fuel up and — most likely — how much we pay for the pleasure. Gov. Arnold Schwarznegger last week proposed a revolutionary measure in his State of the State address: Cut the carbon content of fuels 10 percent by 2020. It's one of the first concrete steps proposed to meet the state's ambitious greenhouse gas limits, which mandate a reduction of California's greenhouse gas emissions by 2020...

In the state's biggest, immediate step toward cutting global warming pollution, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this week began shifting California's 26 million cars and trucks off petroleum-based fuels and toward alternatives that emit less greenhouse gas. The governor said his new greenhouse-gas standard for transportation fuels -- the world's first -- "leads us away from fossil fuel" and would help "in moving the entire country beyond debate, denial and inaction" on global warming. State air-pollution regulators expect to work out the details during the next 18 months. The policy would limit the amount of greenhouse gases released for each bit of...

Sacramento -- California will create the world's first global warming pollution standard for transportation fuels, ratcheting down fuel carbon content 10 percent by 2020 under a plan put forward by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Tuesday in his State of the State address. The new standard could have implications for the auto industry and change the way gasoline is produced around the globe. Environmentalists hailed it as a way to reduce one of the state's chief sources of greenhouse gas emissions and kick-start fledgling alternative fuel technologies. "This is a big deal. This policy will be noticed worldwide," said Eric Heitz, president...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to call for a bold new environmental plan in his State of the State address Tuesday evening. The speech, scheduled to begin at 5 p.m., will call upon Californians to make the Golden State a leader in the fight against global warming, NBC11's Mike Luery reported. "I propose that California be the first in the world to develop a low-carbon fuel standard that leads us away from fossil fuels," Schwarzenegger said. The governor said he wants to see 7 million hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles on California's roadways. That's more than 20 times the current...

SACRAMENTO — Escalating California's battle against global warming, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to announce today that he will order a 10% cut in motor vehicle emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide. Under the proposal, petroleum refiners and gasoline sellers would be ordered to reduce the carbon content of their fuels over the next 13 years. The order could also usher in a new generation of alternative fuels in California, experts say, as refiners consider adding ethanol or other biofuels into gasoline blends. It could also mean a shift of part of the state's auto fleet to hydrogen or...

If you live in any state but California, this might be a good time to prepare for the arrival of new businesses. The Golden State's politicians think they're going to lead the world again. All they think they need to do from Sacramento is command the planet's climate to cease that infernal warming we've heard so much about. What they'll end up doing is command people to live in much more primitive ways. Unless these politicians actually want to expel entrepreneurs, most businesses are expected to stay home and perform obediently under a new regulatory regime. Some even expect that,...

State Moves Forward on Implementing Landmark Global Warming Law Market Advisory Committee Members Chosen, Early Action Workshop Scheduled SACRAMENTO – Today, Linda Adams, Secretary for Environmental Protection, announced a 14-member Market Advisory Committee to support the implementation of the state’s first-in-the-nation comprehensive greenhouse gas reduction program. The Committee was formed according to the Governor’s Executive Order S-20-06. The Committee will make recommendations by June 30, 2007, to the state Air Resources Board on the design of a market-based compliance program. “California is showing tremendous leadership on climate change. In my talks with national and international climate leaders, the progress we’re...

Arnold Schwarzenegger is not the type of guy you would necessarily associate with tree hugging. ... This year he signed the nation's first environmental law of its kind, committing the state to lowering its greenhouse gas production to 1990 levels by 2020 and setting up an international program that provides manufacturers with incentives to lower carbon emissions, which is supposed to begin by 2012. He has vowed to fight any attempt to drill for oil off California's coast. And now Schwarzenegger, a Republican, wants to use his star power to turn global warming into an issue in the 2008 presidential...

WASHINGTON - Imagine the scene next month: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger brings his California message of fighting global warming to the U.S. Senate, helping launch Sen. Barbara Boxer's campaign for national controls on greenhouse gas emissions. Expect the media-savvy governor to extol California-style bipartisanship -- in contrast to Washington-style gridlock -- as the key to achieving results. Schwarzenegger and Boxer, who will chair the Environment Committee, have touted the state's emissions controls as a model for national action. Then, the TV lights will go dark and the legislative grind begins. Even as public consciousness grows about the threat of climate change,...

Coastside commercial fishermen were pleased that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Friday signed the Sustainable Oceans Act, severely restricting future fish-farming along the California coast. The act, authored by Palo Alto Democrat Joe Simitian, allows ocean farming operations but requires stringent environmental protections that industry experts are calling the toughest in the nation. Coastside fisherman Pietro Parravano, president of the Institute of Fishery Resources, said Saturday the new rules should help protect marine ecosystems and water quality. He said the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Association had lobbied for passage of the act. There are currently no finfish aquaculture operations on the...

SACRAMENTO – Like gold and pork bellies, California's carbon dioxide emissions credits may someday emerge as the big thing on commodity markets. Brokers who specialize in the art of the deal are closely following developments here as California steers toward a controversial, yet common, market-based course to reduce pollution many scientists link to global warming. Under the proposal, California would reward low-polluting companies with emissions credits that they can then sell on an open market to industries that cannot readily curb greenhouse gas discharges. Companies are already forming a line, said Josh Margolis, a manager with Cantor Fitzgerald Brokerage. “We...

The leader of the state Senate on Monday accused Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of overstepping his authority in implementing California's pioneering plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The governor's office fired back, saying he would not deviate from a market-based approach he believes would reach emission targets without disrupting California's economy. Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata sent a letter to Schwarzenegger pointing out differences between the governor's executive order and the global warming bill negotiated with Democrats in the state Legislature in late August. The executive order directs the Air Resources Board to develop a market-based compliance program at the...

America's greenest governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, announced on Oct. 16 that he was planning to set up an emissions-trading scheme between California and other states to try to curb the output of greenhouse gases. Given the complexity of designing and operating such schemes, it is fortunate for Schwarzenegger that Europe already has one up and running; for it offers valuable lessons in what not to do. Europe's Emissions-Trading Scheme (ETS) was one of the few substantial developments to emerge from the wreckage of the Kyoto Protocol. Its purpose was threefold: to cut emissions; to get polluters to pay for the damage...

While Schwarzenegger has signed dozens of environmentally friendly bills and selected top advisers from the environmental community, he also has left a trail of controversial appointments, weak executive orders instead of critical reforms and vetoes of bills opposed by the business community. But before he signed legislation establishing the country's first state cap on greenhouse gases, Schwarzenegger sought to weaken it in favor of business interests and threatened a veto if Democrats didn't cede to his requests. The governor also vetoed several bills that would have helped the state meet the new cap. he rejected legislation that would have weakened...

10/16/2006         GAAS:760:06           FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Gov. Schwarzenegger Announces Executive Order to Begin Implementation of Landmark Greenhouse Gas Legislation; Focuses on Developing Market-Based Solutions In conjunction with his meetings with New York Gov. Pataki and New York Mayor Bloomberg, Gov. Schwarzenegger announced an executive order that directs state agencies to begin implementation of AB 32, California's landmark global greenhouse legislation signed last month. Some of the highlights of the executive order include: • The Secretary for Environmental Protection shall be the statewide leader for California's greenhouse gas emission reduction programs for state...

SACRAMENTO Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will announce an executive order Monday in New York that joins California's landmark global warming law with the Northeast's program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The executive order is the first step in creating a system that helps California's biggest manufacturers to comply with stricter environmental regulations, a Schwarzenegger administration official said. Industrial corporations and utility companies must cut their greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 25 percent by 2020. "Gov. Schwarzenegger wants to build a large, robust carbon trading market that will dramatically reduce emissions," said Schwarzenegger communications director Adam Mendelson. "The more robust the market,...

CALIFORNIA Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will go to New York on Monday to discuss his landmark law on global warming with fellow Republicans as pressure builds on US President George W. Bush to take a tougher stance on greenhouse gases. Mr Schwarzenegger will meet separately with Gov. George Pataki and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg "to discuss the implementation of California's landmark market-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction system," his office said overnight. Last month, Mr Schwarzenegger signed the Democratic-sponsored Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which mandates caps on emissions to reduce greenhouse gases 25 percent by 2020. The governor,...