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With just weeks to go until the November 2 election, the showdown over California’s climate change legislation is drawing intense interest and piles of cash, The Washington Post reports.
At issue is Proposition 23, a measure that would suspend implementation of a landmark carbon emissions bill until California’s unemployment rate drops below 5.5 percent for four consecutive quarters, something that may never happen again in a state where the present rate is above 12 percent.
If Prop 23 is defeated, California’s 2006 carbon emissions law will stand and stay on schedule for full implementation in 2012. The law requires that the state lower carbon and other greenhouse emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, a goal to be achieved through emissions reductions by businesses and vehicles.
Prop. 23 opponents include an alliance of environmental groups, such as the Environmental Defense Fund and the League of Conservation Voters.
Deep-pocketed oil companies are the primary supporters of Prop 23. Companies like Valero Oil and Tesoro, among the nation’s largest refiners, argue that the climate measure will devastate the California economy.
“It’s important to Valero that California’s economy be strong,” said Bill Day, a spokesman for Valero, which has a significant presence in California. “And right now the economy out there is in terrible shape . . . [and] can’t handle those extra costs.”
The two sides have raised more than $30 million to organize support for Prop 23, an enormous amount for a ballot measure. Close to half of the money in support of Prop 23 has been raised in the past month.
While a group of oil billionaires versus a gaggle of environmentalists might seem like an unfair fight, the environmentalists have a powerful ally in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, for whom the bill’s passage was a major accomplishment.
“Does anyone really believe that these companies, out of the goodness of their black oil hearts, are spending millions and millions of dollars to protect jobs?” Schwarzenegger said recently. “This is like Eva Braun writing a kosher cookbook. It’s not about jobs at all, ladies and gentlemen. It’s about their ability to pollute and thus protect their profits.”
Beyond the governor, George Shultz, Secretary of State under President Reagan, and private equity fund manager Thomas Steyer are lined up against Prop 23 and in favor of preserving the emissions bill. Also notable is the absence of opposition from some of the nation’ best known oil companies, while the staunch opposition comes from more obscure firms. Shell, for instance, says it is in favor of the climate change law, while Chevron has pledged neutrality on Prop 23.
Polls show the supporters of the proposition narrowly behind.
Related Post:
Energy Firms Spending Millions to Thwart California Global Warming Law
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