Global Warming Regulation Warms Up In California

The California Coastal Commission and the State Lands Commission recently rejected a proposed liquified natural gas terminal off the Ventura County coast in part because of the terminal's potential impact on global climate change.

The Coastal Commission needed to reject the project "not only for consistency with the Coastal Act, but for the planet," commission Executive Director Peter Douglas said.

According to CP&DR's John Krist, "The decision marked the first time that global warming and greenhouse gas emissions played a lead role in the environmental review process in California, and it may signal a seismic shift in the rules of the game for project applicants up and down the state. It also does not bode well for future proposals to import natural gas into California, nor for generating plants and other energy projects that involve hydrocarbon fuels."