The Air Resources Board must adopt a comprehensive blueprint for achieving that goal by the end of 2008 and complete the necessary rulemaking to implement that plan by the end of 2011. In the meantime, the Act requires "discrete early action measures" to ensure steady progress in mitigating climate change. As narrowly defined in the law, the discrete early actions must be regulations, adopted and enforceable no later than January 1, 2010. However, there are many other near-term actions underway at ARB that will contribute to the State's ultimate goal.

Friday's early action report identifies three specific greenhouse gas control rules to be adopted and enforced before January 1, 2010, along with 36 other climate protecting measures the Board is initiating between now and 2011. The report divides early actions into three categories:

•Group 1 - GHG rules for immediate adoption and implementation

•Group 2 - Additional GHG measures underway between 2007-2009

•Group 3 - Air pollution controls with potential climate co-benefits

Specifically the new rules would require that the carbon content of gasoline be reduced by 10 percent, something Schwarzenegger called for this year in an executive order he signed

Updating energy-efficiency standards for new homes and businesses

Requiring that replacement tires for vehicles meet the same efficiency standards that tires on new cars must meet

Forcing cement makers to change the composition of cement to a mix that releases fewer emissions when it is made. These three regulations are proposed to meet the narrow legal definition of "discrete early action GHG reduction measures": a low-carbon fuel standard, reduction of refrigerant losses from motor vehicle air conditioning system maintenance, and increased methane capture from landfills. A public workshop to discuss the draft report will be held today in Sacramento. After gathering public comments, staff will develop a final staff report for presentation to ARB's Governing Board at its June 20-21, 2007 hearing.