[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Kassie R. Siegel
Director
Climate, Air, and Energy Program
Center for Biological Diversity

Let’s be clear about the California Environmental Quality Act and global warming.

As our state’s flagship environmental law, CEQA requires all state and local agencies to assess, and then to reduce, to the extent feasible, all significant environmental impacts from new projects. Greenhouse gas emissions are among the most important impacts that CEQA addresses, and thus the law provides an ideal opportunity as well as a legal mandate for cities, counties, and other agencies to consider the greenhouse gas emissions from new projects they approve and then to adopt measures to reduce those emissions. The CEQA environmental review process is not about stopping projects, but about improving them. This process is established across the state and has a long, proven record of success. The CEQA is a key component of the suite of laws and policies already on the books to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our state.