Business group seeks cost-benefit study of California GHG plan

San Francisco (Platts)--6Mar2006

A coalition backed by the California Chamber of Commerce Monday
questioned the economic assumptions behind Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's
climate change goals. 

     The California Environmental Protection Agency and others are working to
develop a final report to enact the governor's GHG reduction goals. The
governor last June called for GHG emissions reductions to 2000 levels by 2010.

     The coalition, called the Sustainable Environment and Economy for
California, said the Climate Action Team failed to conduct a cost-benefit
analysis of the impacts of the governor's GHG reduction goals. 

     The state "should avoid making conclusions about the impacts of potential
emission reduction strategies when the basis for its analysis is "admittedly
changing and incomplete," the coalition said in a report.

     "Before the Legislature or governor adopts policies on GHG emissions
there needs to be a cost benefit analysis [and an assurance] we are seeing
enough GHG reductions for the dollars that we are being asked to spend," said
Jeanne Cain, senior vice president of the California Chamber of Commerce and
chairwoman of the coalition.

     The state EPA, which is the lead agency developing a plan on reaching the
governor's GHG goals Friday said release of the final plan will be delayed
from mid-February to an unspecified time in the spring.

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