SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders agreed Wednesday on a plan to cut by 25% the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from California electric power plants, refineries and other sources by the year 2020.
Later, the agreement was approved by the Senate 23 to 14 with Democrats supporting it and Republicans opposed. It then went to the Assembly, where final approval was expected.
It would make California the first state in the nation to fight global warming by slapping caps on carbon dioxide and other emissions.
Wednesday's compromise followed weeks of intense lobbying by environmentalists, who supported tough standards, and business groups, which labeled the bill a top "job killer" of the legislative session set to end today.
The governor was pleased. "The success of our system will be an example for other states and nations to follow as the fight against climate change continues," he said in a statement released just after top Democratic lawmakers announced the agreement.
The deal was also seen as a rebuke to the Bush administration, which favors voluntary efforts to reduce greenhouse gases.
Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) praised the compromise as "a huge opportunity to champion not just on the national level but the international level a significant piece of environmental legislation."
Business interests, especially oil companies, were irate and said they felt abandoned by the Republican governor, who had pledged to work for a bill they could support. They accused Schwarzenegger and Democrats of cobbling together behind closed doors a haphazard bill that could create unintended economic chaos.
"We remain very concerned about the long-term impact of this legislation on jobs, the economy and our industry's ability to continue meeting increasing demand for gasoline and diesel fuels," said Tupper Hull, a spokesman for the Western States Petroleum Assn.
Environmental activists were satisfied with the compromise, although they had sought more stringent controls. They called the greenhouse gas reduction plan proposed for California more sweeping than a more limited effort by a group of Northeastern states to curb emissions from electric power plants.
"For years, the world has been waiting for the United States to step up to the plate and do something about global warming. This bill is basically the first step," said Bernadette Del Chiaro, an advocate for Environment California.
