CA: Report hails state's clean energy push

Sac Bee ^ | 11/19/07 | Ngoc Nguyen

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California air quality chief Mary Nichols and state Energy Commissioner James Boyd have joined environmental groups in touting a new report that holds California up as a national leader in clean energy policy.

They're calling on California's congressional delegation to follow the state's lead in pushing similar energy-saving initiatives as Congress is poised to vote on a federal energy bill.

"The next step is for federal policy to match what states are doing," said Nichols, the California Air Resources Board chairwoman appointed by .. Schwarzenegger.

The report by clean energy advocacy group Environment America lauds the Golden State for mandating renewable electricity-, vehicle- and appliance-efficiency standards and energy-efficient building codes.

While the federal government is lagging, the report says, states as a whole are doing much on their own to promote clean energy policies.

Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia have mandated that more electricity come from renewable sources such as wind and solar power. Twelve states have standards for energy-efficient appliances and equipment, and a dozen states are requiring the rollout of cleaner-running cars.

That's leaving a lighter carbon footprint on the planet, the report found.

Renewable electricity standards adopted by more than two dozen states would reduce global warming pollution by about 2 percent of current levels, roughly equal to removing more than 21 million cars off roads. And, by 2020, low-emission vehicles would offset global warming emissions by 74 million metric tons per year – the equivalent of taking more than 13 million cars off roads.

In California, energy-saving approaches have reaped rewards. As of 2003, the state used less electricity per capita than any other state, ...

And the reductions can add up. If every state adopted California's energy-saving standards, the nation as a whole would consume 8 percent less electricity, according to the report.

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