* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download assembly committee on natural resources
Climate change feedback wikipedia , lookup
Climate governance wikipedia , lookup
Public opinion on global warming wikipedia , lookup
Citizens' Climate Lobby wikipedia , lookup
Economics of global warming wikipedia , lookup
Climate change and agriculture wikipedia , lookup
Climate engineering wikipedia , lookup
Media coverage of global warming wikipedia , lookup
General circulation model wikipedia , lookup
Iron fertilization wikipedia , lookup
Climate change adaptation wikipedia , lookup
Effects of global warming on human health wikipedia , lookup
Scientific opinion on climate change wikipedia , lookup
German Climate Action Plan 2050 wikipedia , lookup
Climate change, industry and society wikipedia , lookup
Climate change in Tuvalu wikipedia , lookup
Solar radiation management wikipedia , lookup
Surveys of scientists' views on climate change wikipedia , lookup
Hotspot Ecosystem Research and Man's Impact On European Seas wikipedia , lookup
Effects of global warming on humans wikipedia , lookup
Effects of global warming on Australia wikipedia , lookup
SB 1363 Page 1 Date of Hearing: June 27, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES Das Williams, Chair SB 1363 (Monning) – As Amended May 31, 2016 SENATE VOTE: 27-12 SUBJECT: Ocean Protection Council: Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Reduction Program SUMMARY: Requires, to the extent funds are available, Ocean Protection Counsel (OPC), in consultation with the Coastal Conservancy (Conservancy), to establish and administer the Ocean Acidulation and Hyproxia Reduction Program (Program). EXISTING LAW: 1) Establishes OPC, which consists of the Secretary of Natural Resources Agency (NRA), the Secretary for Environmental Protection, the Chair of the State Lands Commission, and two members of the public appointed by the Governor. 2) Requires OPC to support state agencies’ use and sharing of scientific and geospatial information for coastal- and ocean-relevant decision making relating to coastal and ocean ecosystems, including the effects of climate change. 3) Pursuant to Executive Order S-13-08 (Schwarzenegger), requires NRA, through the Climate Action Team, to coordinate with local, regional, state, federal, and private entities to develop a state Climate Adaptation Strategy (Strategy). Requires the Strategy to summarize the best known science on climate change impacts to California, assess California's vulnerability to the identified impacts, and outline solutions that can be implemented within and across state agencies to promote resiliency. 4) Pursuant to Executive Order B-30-15 (Brown), in addition to establishing a 40% Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission reduction goal by 2030, requires several actions on adaptation, including: a) Requires NRA to update the Strategy every three years and ensure that its provisions are fully implemented. Requires the Strategy to: i) Identify vulnerabilities to climate change by sector and region, including, at a minimum, the following sectors: water, energy, transportation, public health, agriculture, emergency services, forestry, biodiversity and habitat, and ocean and coastal resources; ii) Outline primary risks to residents, property, communities, and natural systems from these vulnerabilities, and identify priority actions needed to reduce these risks; and, iii) Identify a lead agency or group of agencies to lead adaptation efforts in each sector. b) Requires each sector lead to prepare an implementation plan by September 2015 to outline the actions that will be taken as identified in the Strategy, and report back on SB 1363 Page 2 those actions to the NRA. c) Requires state agencies to take climate change into account in their planning and investment decisions and employ full life-cycle cost accounting to evaluate and compare infrastructure investments and alternatives. d) Requires state agencies' planning and investment to be guided by the principles of climate preparedness for uncertain climate impacts, protective of vulnerable populations, and prioritization of natural infrastructure solutions. e) Requires the state's Five-Year Infrastructure Plan to take current and future climate change impacts into account in all infrastructure projects. f) Requires OPR to establish a technical advisory group to help state agencies incorporate climate change impacts into planning and investment decisions. g) Requires the state to continue its rigorous climate change research program focused on understanding the impacts of climate change and how best to prepare and adapt to such impacts. 5) Requires the NRA to update its climate adaptation strategy, the Safeguarding California Plan (Plan), by July 1, 2017, and every three years thereafter by coordinating adaption activities among lead state agencies in each sector. THIS BILL: 1) Establishes various findings about ocean acidification, hypoxia, and the benefits of eelgrass. 2) Requires, to the extent funds are available, OPC, in consultation with the Conservancy, to establish and administer the Program to achieve the following goals: a) Developing demonstration projects to research how important environmental and ecological factors interact across space and time to influence how geographically dispersed eelgrass beds remove carbon dioxide (CO2) and reduce hypoxia. b) Generating an inventory of locations where conservation or restoration of aquatic habitats, including eelgrass, can mitigate ocean acidification and hypoxia. c) Incorporating consideration of CO2 removal during the habitat restoration planning process. d) Supporting science, monitoring, and coordination to ensure that ocean and coastal policy and management reflects the best science on ocean acidification and hypoxia. 3) Authorizes OPC to provide grants or loans to be made to private entities for projects that further public purposes consistent with the findings in this bill or the Program. SB 1363 Page 3 FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, if funding is made available, this bill will result in the following costs: 1) Unknown, but significant costs (special fund) to OPC, to develop and administer the program. 2) Minor costs (special fund) to the Conservancy for consultation. COMMENTS: 1) Ocean Acidification. The ocean absorbs about one-third of the CO2 that is released into the atmosphere each year from the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities. As the CO2 levels in the atmosphere increase, so do the levels in the ocean. This changes the chemistry of the water and threatens marine ecosystems and coastal communities dependent on the health of the sea. Ocean acidification is the lowering of the pH of the ocean and changing of the ocean’s chemistry, which can lead to low dissolved oxygen water (hypoxia) in ocean ecosystems. Ocean acidification will likely have major impacts on the fisheries and aquaculture industries in California. It could also have a profound effect on marine ecosystems leading to large-scale die-offs and over the long term reduced biodiversity. Record hot temperatures in the Pacific Ocean caused by global warming and a powerful El Niño have fueled the worst coral bleaching event ever seen in portions of Australia’s famed Great Barrier Reef. Australia’s National Coral Bleaching Task Force has surveyed 911 coral reefs by air, and found at least some bleaching on 93 percent of them The Plan includes a sector on Oceans and Coastal Resources and Ecosystems. That sector released a sector plan that discusses ocean acidification, but there are no specific recommendations for legislative or executive action. On April 4, 2016, the West Coast Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Science Panel (Panel) released a synthesis of the current state of scientific knowledge about ocean acidification and hypoxia in California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. The Panel’s final report included what management options might be used to address ocean acidification on the west coast. In the Panel’s final report, it stated, “Seagrass beds, kelps and other macrophytes remove CO2 from seawater and convert it into living tissue. This CO2 uptake can occur at sufficiently rapid rates to significantly improve water quality for organisms sensitive to carbon chemistry changes.” This bill attempts to create demonstration projects for eelgrass beds to provide a better understanding of their ability to reduce CO2 and mitigate ocean acidification and hypoxia. Both this bill and AB 2139 (Williams, 2016) task OPC with ocean acidification responsibilities. Some of those responsibilities overlap. The authors have agreed to work together to address those overlaps. 2) Amendments. This bill authorizes OPC to provide grants for projects that are consistent with the findings of the bill. However, legislative findings are not designed to determine eligibility for funding. The author and committee may wish to consider amendments to remove the authorization of funding for projects consistent with the findings and instead solely provide that authorization for projects consistent with the Program. The author and committee may wish to also consider clarifying which habitat restoration planning processes should incorporate CO2 reduction. SB 1363 Page 4 REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION: Support Audubon California Azul Big Sur Land Trust Black Brant Group Bolsa Chica Land Trust California Coastal Protection Network California League of Conservation Voters California Waterfowl Clean Water Action Defenders of Wildlife Monterey Bay Aquarium Morro Bay Oyster Company Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association Peninsula Open Space Trust Ocean Conservancy Sierra Club California Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District One individual Opposition None on file Analysis Prepared by: Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092