California bill could radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions

? California would become the first state to impose a limit on all greenhouse gas emissions, including those from industrial plants, under a landmark deal reached Wednesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative Democrats.

The agreement marks a clear break with the Bush administration and puts California on a path to reducing its emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by an estimated 25 percent by 2020.

The bill still needs lawmakers’ approval, but that appears likely, given that Democrats control the Legislature.

The deal gives Schwarzenegger a key environmental victory as he seeks re-election this fall.

“The success of our system will be an example for other states and nations to follow as the fight against climate change continues,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

The bill would require the state’s major industries – such as utility plants, oil and gas refineries, and cement kilns – to reduce their emissions of the pollutants widely believed to contribute to global warming.

The California Air Resources Board would be charged with implementing a market program – a key mechanism designed to drive the reductions – allowing businesses to buy, sell and trade emission credits with other companies.

The agreement came after weeks of negotiations and was announced by the governor’s office and Democratic leaders in the Senate and Assembly. The bill is expected to be sent quickly to the Senate floor, as soon as today.

The bill was praised by environmentalists as a step toward fighting global climate change but criticized by some business leaders, who say it would increase their costs and force them to scale back their California operations.

Republicans in the Legislature say climate change should be addressed at the national level, not on a state-by-state basis.

“Adopting costly and unattainable regulations will drive businesses and jobs out of California into other states and even into other countries with no commitment to improve air quality,” said Assembly Republican leader George Plescia, a LaJolla Republican.

Schwarzenegger and the Legislature’s Democratic leadership have embraced a cap on vehicle and industry emissions as a way to make California a trendsetter in fighting global warming.

The nation’s most populous state is the world’s 12th-largest emitter of greenhouse gases and could suffer dire consequences if global temperatures increase only a few degrees. Reports by state agencies indicate that a 2- to 3-degree rise in temperature could melt the Sierra Nevada snowpack earlier each year, lead to flooding in the Central Valley and threaten the state’s long-term water supply for cities and farms.