Commission Approves Bay Area's Greenhouse Gas Target Principles

On July 28, 2010, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) approved a set of "Bay Area Principles for Establishing Regional Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets" (Resolution 3970). The principles propose, among other things, per-capita greenhouse gas GHG) reductions of 7 percent by 2020 and 15 percent by 2035. In the latter case, the Commission amended the MTC staff recommendation for Principle #7, which had called for a 10 percent GHG reduction by 2035.

The approved principles are intended to inform the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in its GHG target-setting deliberations between now and September 30, 2010, when it adopts statewide GHG targets as required by state law (2008 legislation, SB 375, by Senator Darrell Steinberg). CARB's approved target will provide the region with the framework for developing a new Sustainable Communities Strategy in the Bay Area, which is slated for adoption by MTC and the Association of Bay Area Governments in March of 2013.

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