Some meetings are bigger than others. The California Air Resources Board (CARB or Board) recently held one of the more significant environmental regulatory meetings of the last couple of years. The Board approved two items on its agenda which could potentially affect the lives of every Californian for decades to come.

At the September 2010 meeting, the Board focused on both the future of growth in California by setting the SB 375 regional land use greenhouse gas (GHG) targets and by establishing the future of California’s electricity grid through the adoption of a 33% Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) regulation.

These two actions were both key components of the Board’s 2008 road map to achieve the AB 32 mandate of reducing the state’s GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. This road map is known as the AB 32 Scoping Plan and contains a list of policy recommendations and additional measures to achieve the state’s climate change goals. With these two items being moved to the Board’s adopted pile, the sole remaining major climate item for Board consideration this year is the Cap and Trade program, recently pushed back to December 16th.