An independent panel of scientific experts today reaffirmed that an oil industry association’s study of California’s landmark clean energy law (AB32), in particular the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, was flawed on a number of fronts, saying it did not “include a full accounting of the economic impacts, or the health and welfare impacts of the legislation on the broader population and economy of the state,” such as “positive effects on the health and welfare of the citizens of California that could result from the implementation of AB32.”
EVALUATING BCG’S REPORT: UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACTS OF AB32
The Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers contracted with the Policy Institute to facilitate an expert evaluation of the report “Understanding the Impacts of AB32” and the subsequent analysis “BCG and CARB LCFS Models: Review of impact of assumptions in three different areas”. These original reports were funded by WSPA and produced by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
The stated scope and goals of the BCG report are as follows:
“We analyzed the likely impact of AB32 fuels policies on emissions and refining economics using proprietary BCG models. We then developed a framework to assess how these changes are likely to impact California’s economy along key dimensions including employment, government revenues, and GHG emissions.”
Read the full article at http://policyinstitute.ucdavis.edu/ →
LCFS review drubs oil industry report: top 10 quotes
If you have been following events in California, oil refiners have been waging a well-funded war on California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, which requires oil companies to reduce the carbon pollution from gasoline and diesel by 10 percent by 2020.
Centerpiece in their strategy was a June 2012 report from Boston Consulting Group (funded by the Western States Petroleum Association) that concluded that a full and continued implementation of the LCFS would leave refiners “no other option but to refuse to supply the United State’s largest transportation fuels market or to simply shut-down.”
Big oil fixing gas prices? Bill would force state to find out
Do oil companies illegally set gas prices at the pump? A bill in the California Legislature would force the state of California to take a closer look.
#stopPickpockets Ad Campaign
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Central Valley fares poorly in new California pollution index
Central Valley communities are among the hardest hit in California under a unique new misery index that provides statewide mapping on community pollution, health and well-being.
The state Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday unveiled a new environmental screening tool that reveals – by ZIP code – how neighborhoods are affected by pesticides, truck fumes, hazardous waste and other toxic factors.
San Francisco supervisors vote to divest from Big Oil
San Francisco took a symbolic step Tuesday toward ridding its retirement holdings of investments in the biggest fossil fuel companies, even if it may be years before divestment is realized.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution by Supervisor John Avalos urging the Employees’ Retirement System to divest about $580 million in holdings from the top 200 fossil fuel companies. The resolution calls for the system to stop any new fossil fuel investments and complete divestment within five years.
Report: Chevron El Segundo refinery pipes corroded
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tests of pipe samples from Chevron Corp.’s El Segundo refinery found corrosion to an extent similar to the pipe that failed and caused a large fire at the company’s Richmond facility, a report released Thursday found.
The tests found up to 60 percent wall loss in a pipe at the El Segundo refinery that processed the same type of crude as its sister facility in Northern California, according to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board and California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
Animation of Fire at Chevron’s Richmond Refinery, August 6, 2012
Here’s a video detailing what really happened at Chevron’s Richmond refinery.
Big Oil Prefers to Crush Renewables Rather Than Invest in Them
For awhile it looked like the oil giants were seriously diversifying into renewable energy, but that’s coming to an end.
BP dropped its long-standing solar and wind divisions, Shell focuses on how wind energy can assist fossil fuel extraction, and Exxon and Chevron have pulled back from biofuels.