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5.21 Climate Change

Executive Order S-01-07 and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard
Executive Order S-01-07 (January 18, 2007) requires a ten percent or greater reduction
(from current transportation fuels) in the average fuel carbon intensity for CARB-regulated
transportation fuels in California (California 2007a). CARB identifies the Low Carbon Fuel
Standard (LCFS) as a Discrete Early Action item under AB 32.

In 2009, CARB approved for adoption the LCFS regulation, which became fully effective in
April 2010 and is codified in the California Code of Regulations (CCR, specifically Title 17,
Sections 95480–95490). The LCFS will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the
carbon intensity of transportation fuels used in California by at least 10 percent by 2020.
Carbon intensity is a measure of the GHG emissions associated with the various production,
distribution, and use steps in the "lifecycle" of a transportation fuel. Following a federal
lawsuit challenging the LCFS, on September 25, 2015, CARB re-adopted the LCFS regulation
(CARB 2015b).

Assembly Bill 1493 (Mobile Source Reductions)

Assembly Bill (AB) 1493 required CARB to adopt regulations by January 1, 2005, to reduce
GHG emissions from noncommercial passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks of model year
2009 and after (California 2002a). The bill required the California Climate Action Registry
(CCAR) to develop and adopt protocols for the reporting and certification of GHG emissions
reductions from mobile sources for use by CARB in granting emission reduction credits. The
bill authorized CARB to grant emission reduction credits for reductions of GHG emissions
prior to the date of the enforcement of regulations, using model year 2000 as the baseline
for reduction.

In 2004, CARB applied to the USEPA for a waiver under the Federal Clean Air Act to authorize
implementation of these regulations. The waiver request was formally denied by the USEPA
in December 2007. In January 2008, the State Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the
USEPA challenging the denial of California’s request for a waiver to regulate and limit GHG
emissions from these vehicles. In January 2009, President Barack Obama issued a directive
to the USEPA to reconsider California’s request for a waiver, which the USEPA granted on
June 30, 2009, as discussed further below (USEPA 2009b). As part of this waiver, the USEPA
specified that CARB may not hold a manufacturer liable or responsible for any
noncompliance caused by emission debits generated by the manufacturer for the 2009
model year. The emission standards become increasingly more stringent through the 2016
model year. Regulations to make California emissions standards for model year 2017 and
beyond consistent with federal standards were adopted in 2012 and are discussed further
below.

CARB’s Advanced Clean Cars Program

In January 2012, CARB approved the Advanced Clean Cars Program, a new emissions-control
program for model year 2017 through 2025. The program combines the control of smog,
soot and GHGs with requirements for greater numbers of zero-emission vehicles. By 2025,
when the rules will be fully implemented, the new automobiles will emit 34 percent fewer
global warming gases and 75 percent fewer smog-forming emissions. The program also

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Draft EIR