AB 1404: GHGs, green jobs, and clean communities

One of the most difficult questions raised by AB 32, California's global warming reduction law, is whether greenhouse gases (GHG) generated in California should be reduced by the generators where they are emitted or through a marketplace that allows GHG generators to offset their emissions by buying reductions elsewhere around the world. Offsets may be less expensive but also hard to verify, whereas onsite reductions also reduce co-pollutants like particulate matter and smog-forming NO_x and help foster green jobs and clean technologies in California. AB 1404 would have limited offsets to 10% of all reductions allowed through market mechanisms and prioritized offsets that reduce air pollution in heavily impacted communities.