Reducing carbon emissions to mitigate the effects of climate change and help usher in a clean energy economy has been a contentious issue for companies and governments alike. Despite the failure of Congress to regulate carbon emissions nation-wide, the state of California is earning credibility as an economic and governance innovator by forging ahead with its own carbon-cutting legislation.

In 2006, California passed Assembly Bill 32 – The Global Warming Solutions Act, which requires the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. After a failed attempt by the oil and gas industry to delay implementation of AB32 through a ballot initiative in the last election, the state is starting to employ carbon reduction strategies this year.

In this episode, we’re joined by Kevin Kennedy, executive officer of California’s Air Resources Board’s climate division and main architect of the bill’s cap-and-trade rules. Kennedy describes the process and progress on climate policy in California and what it might mean for carbon management in the rest of the country.

[Music: Debashish Bhattacharya, "Amrit Andand" from Calcutta Chronicles: Indian Slide-Guitar Odyssey (Riverboat, 2008); Beach House, "Zebra" from Teen Dream (Sub Pop, 2010)]