Ass'n of Irritated Residents v. State Air Resources Board

This appeal questions whether the “Climate Change Scoping Plan” adopted by the State Air Resources Board in 2009 complies with the requirements of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. As did the trial court, we answer this question in the affirmative.

Background

The Legislation

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (the Act or Assembly Bill 32) (Health & Saf. Code, § 38500 et seq.) 1 was conceived as groundbreaking legislation. The findings with which the Act begins declare that “[g]lobal warming poses a serious threat to the economic well-being, public health, natural resources, and the environment of California” (§ 38501, subd. (a)) and continues: “California has long been a national and international leader on energy conservation and environmental stewardship efforts, including the areas of air quality protections, energy efficiency requirements, renewable energy standards, natural resource conservation, and greenhouse gas emission standards for passenger vehicles. The program established by this division will continue this tradition of environmental leadership by *1490 placing California at the forefront of national and international…