SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- The California Air Resources Board (CARB) released a climate change plan Wednesday that will touch nearly every sector of the state's economy -- from the cars we buy to the places we live and the energy used power them.

The proposed scoping plan, which must be approved in December, aims to meet an overarching goal embodied in the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the country's most populous state to 1990 levels by 2020.

"In a sense, this is just the beginning ... It's going to take the efforts of everybody in this room, and people beyond this room, to make it a reality because this is a plan that will take a lot of work and money to implement," Mary Nichols, CARB chairperson, told business leaders Wednesday at an event to launch The Climate Group's "Business Guide to the Low Carbon Economy: California."

With Prop. 7, California argues its energy future

The ballot initiative would mandate more renewables. So why are many environmentalists against it?

By Daniel B. Wood Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor/ October 16, 2008 edition

California, which leads the country in cutting the greenhouse gases that cause global warming, is trying to accelerate its “green revolution.”

But several leading research and environmental organizations warn that the latest attempt could backfire, reducing the state’s push to embrace renewable energy.

A citizen’s initiative – Proposition 7, which goes before voters Nov. 4 – requires all electric utilities to provide half of their electricity from solar and other clean energy sources by 2025. The initiative would double what utilities are now asked to do under the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard. Currently, California utilities derive about 11 percent of their electricity from renewable sources.