2005 California Health and Safety Code Sections 42800-42801.1 Article 1. Findings and Declarations

42800.  This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California Climate Action Registry.
42801.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) It is in the best interest of the State of California, the
United States of America, and the earth as a whole, to encourage
voluntary actions to achieve all economically beneficial reductions
of greenhouse gas emissions from California sources.
   (b) Mandatory greenhouse gas emissions reductions may be imposed
on California sources at some future point, and in view of this, the
state has a responsibility to use its best efforts to ensure that
organizations that voluntarily inventory their emissions receive
appropriate consideration for changes in emissions quantities made
prior to the implementation of any mandatory programs.
   (c) Past initiatives in the state that took early and responsible
action to reduce air pollution and ozone smog have demonstrated
political, economic, and technological leadership, and have proven to
benefit the state.
   (d) The state's tradition of environmental leadership should be
recognized through the establishment of a registry to provide
documentation of greenhouse gas emissions levels voluntarily achieved
by sources in the state.  The registry will provide participants an
opportunity to register greenhouse gas emissions information in a
consistent format using publicly reviewed and adopted procedures and
protocols.
   (e) The state hereby commits to use its best efforts to ensure
that organizations that establish greenhouse gas emissions baselines
and register emissions results that are certified in accordance with
this chapter receive appropriate consideration under any future
international, federal, or state regulatory scheme relating to
greenhouse gas emissions.  The state cannot guarantee that any
regulatory regime relating to greenhouse gas emissions will recognize
the baselines and annual results recorded in the registry.
   (f) The state hereby commits to review future international or
federal programs related to greenhouse gas emissions and to make
reasonable efforts to promote consistency between the state program
and these programs and to reduce the reporting burden on
participants, if changes to the state program are consistent with the
goals and intent of Section 42810.
42801.1.  For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (a) "Annual emissions results" means the participant's applicable
data on the direct and indirect release of greenhouse gases in one
particular year.  In addition to annual emissions results a
participant may report data annually on emission reductions from a
project or other action, including the sequestration of stocks of
carbon in forests.
   (b) "Baseline" means a datum against which to measure greenhouse
gas emissions performance over time, usually annual emissions in a
selected base year.  For the purposes of this subdivision, the
baseline shall start on or after January 1, 1990.
   (c) "Certification" means the determination of whether a given
participant's greenhouse gas emissions inventory (either baseline or
annual result) has met a minimum quality standard and complied with
an appropriate set of registry-approved procedures and protocols for
submitting emissions inventory information.  The process for
certification of emissions results will be specified within the
procedures and protocols approved for industry-specific emissions
inventory reporting, and may involve a range of options depending
upon the nature of the emissions, complexity of a company's
facilities and operations, or both, and the procedures deemed
necessary by the registry board to validate a participant's emissions
information.
   (d) "De minimis emissions" means emissions that are below a
certain threshold, when summed across all applicable sources of the
participating entity.  The State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission shall recommend to the registry for adoption a
threshold emissions level for each type of greenhouse gas emission
that shall be considered de minimis.
   (e) "Emissions" means the release of greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere.
   (f) (1) "Emissions inventory" means an accounting of the amount of
greenhouse gases discharged into the atmosphere.  It is generally
characterized by all of the following factors:
   (A) The chemical or physical identity of the pollutants included.
   (B) The geographic area covered.
   (C) The institutional entities covered.
   (D) The time period over which emissions are estimated.
   (E) The types of activities that cause emissions.
   (2) An emissions inventory shall include sufficient documentation
and supporting data to make transparent the underlying assumptions
and calculations for all of the reported results.
   (g) "Forest" means lands that support, or can support, at least 10
percent tree canopy cover and that allow for management of one or
more forest resources including timber, fish and wildlife,
biodiversity, water quality, recreation, aesthetics, and other public
benefits.
   (h) "Greenhouse gases" include all of the following gases:  carbon
dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons,
perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.
   (i) "Material" means any emission of greenhouse gas that is not de
minimis.
   (j) "Native" means forests classified in the 1988 edition, or its
approved successor equivalent, of "A Guide to Wildlife Habitats of
California," published by the Department of Fish and Game, and
forests that are composed of the forest types within those
classifications.
   (k) "Natural forest management" means forest management practices
that promote and maintain native forests comprised of multiple ages
and mixed native species in the overstory and understory.