Climate change and the regulation of greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions continue to be hot topics among regulators and industry leaders, and in the courts in California. There have been three key developments in the past month on the climate change front, in addition to the Ninth Circuit's decision last month in Center For Biological Diversity v. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

*CAPCOA Offers Air Agencies' Views on CEQA and Climate Change. Most relevant to developers in California was the issuance on January 2, 2008, of a 155-page white paper by the California Air Pollution Control Officers Association ("CAPCOA"), entitled "CEQA & Climate Change: Evaluating and Addressing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Projects Subject to the California Environmental Quality Act."

*CARB Adopts Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Requirements. California Air Resources Board's December 6, 2007, adoption of mandatory greenhouse gas reporting requirements for the largest GHG-emitting facilities in the state.

*California Battles EPA for Right to Regulate Tailpipe Emissions. The California State Attorney General filed a lawsuit against EPA on January 2, 2008, because EPA refused to permit California to regulate tailpipe emissions.

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