On April 11, 2016, the California Air Resources Board ("CARB") continued its efforts to implement the greenhouse gas emission reductions required by the Global Warming Solutions Act ("AB 32") and related legislation by issuing its Proposed Short-Lived Climate Pollutant ("SLCP") Reduction Strategy (the "Proposed Strategy"). Reducing SLCPs is one of "five pillars" of California's climate strategy, which seeks to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. CARB was directed to prepare the Proposed Strategy pursuant to Senate Bill 605, the Short-Lived Climate Pollutants Act.
 
According to CARB, SLCPs such as black carbon, methane, and fluorinated gases have a significant impact on climate over the short term. SLCPs are more effective at trapping heat in the earth's atmosphere than the more ubiquitous greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide.
 
Among other things, the Proposed Strategy seeks to: (i) reduce wildfire risk (the largest source of black carbon emissions in California); (ii) eliminate the disposal of organic waste streams in landfills and reduce fugitive emissions from natural gas storage facilities and pipelines to reduce methane emissions; and (iii) incentivize the use of low global warming potential refrigerants to reduce fluorinated gas emissions. By deploying these and other strategies, CARB intends to reduce emissions of methane and fluorinated gases by 40 percent, and black carbon emissions by 50 percent, below current levels by 2030.
 
CARB will host several workshops over the coming months to discuss the Proposed Strategy and will vote to approve a final strategy in the fall of 2016. All regulatory measures implementing the strategies set forth in the Proposed Strategy will be subject to a separate notice and public comment process.

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