Other Links

• California Climate Change Portal
• Climate Action Team
• ARB Climate Change Site

Climate Change

In California and throughout the world, signs of a changing climate are evident. Much of the global warming during the last four decades is attributable to increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) caused by human activities.

Caring for the environment, including addressing climate change, is an integral part of the mission of the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB). The waste management hierarchy of reduce, reuse, recycle, and environmentally sound disposal, originally established by the Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, (AB 939, Sher, Chapter 1095, Statutes of 1989), can significantly reduce the production of greenhouse gases.

Executive Order and Climate Action Team

In June 2005 Governor Schwarzenegger's Executive Order S-03-05 established the Climate Action Team (CAT) which is comprised of State Agency Secretaries, Board and Commission Chairs, and other key representatives of State agencies. The CAT is charged with implementing global warming emission reduction programs and reporting on the progress made toward meeting the statewide greenhouse gas targets established by the Executive Order. The CIWMB is a member of the CAT.

State agencies are committed to achieving a series of strategies developed by the CAT to reduce GHG emissions. Eleven CAT subgroups were formed. CIWMB chairs the Recycling and Waste Management Subgroup and serves in an advisory capacity on four other subgroups: Agriculture, Economics, Green Building, and Land Use.

Assembly Bill (AB) 32

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (originally passed as Assembly Bill 32) established the world’s first comprehensive program of regulatory and market mechanisms to achieve real, quantifiable, cost-effective reductions of GHGs. The Air Resources Board (ARB) is responsible for monitoring and reducing GHG emissions from multiple sectors. The Climate Action Team is empowered to coordinate statewide efforts.

For More Information

• Overview--More background information on the challenge of global climate change.
• Contacts--Contact information for CIWMB and other agency staff working on climate change activities.
• Listserv--Enroll in the Climate Change listserv and keep informed of all the latest information on CIWMB’s activities in combating global climate change.
• Events--Plan to attend upcoming events.
• California Climate Change Portal--This site contains information on the impacts of climate change on California and the state's policies relating to global warming. It is also the home for the California Climate Change Center, a "virtual" research and information website operated by the California Energy Commission through its Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program.
• California Air Resources Board climate change website.
• U.S. EPA climate change website.
• Western Climate Initiative--A collaboration launched in February 2007 by the Governors of Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington to develop regional strategies to address climate change.
• California Climate Action Registry--A private nonprofit organization, originally formed by the State, that serves as a voluntary greenhouse gas (GHG) registry to protect and promote early actions to reduce GHG emissions by organizations.
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)--Established to provide the decision-makers and others interested in climate change with an objective source of information about climate change.