The Carneros Innovation Dialogue

The following are among the key ideas in each category of action (some appear in more than one category). The listing of specific recommendations does not imply the endorsement of each proposal by all Dialogue participants.

Information programs, public outreach campaigns, and education strategies:

• Develop "Green Labels" for consumer products and all products or assets procured by the state
• Support the establishment of a California institute for climate solutions as a joint undertaking of the state's higher education institutions and the CPUC
• Create a "Green Cities" program to recognize California cities and towns that make public commitments to specified levels of emissions reductions or to the use of specific levels of renewable energy for municipal purposes

Strategies to promote research, development, and demonstration on new and emerging clean technologies:

• Support the establishment of a California institute for climate solutions as a joint undertaking of the state's higher education institutions and the CPUC
• Develop programs to underwrite cost-shared research on long-term high-risk technology development projects through public-private partnerships involving small businesses located in California
• Develop a California Carbon Bank and Trust to fund research, development, and demonstration projects in clean technologies by small businesses
• Sponsor high-profile competitions to stimulate innovative examples of clean technologies

Policies, programs, and strategies to increase market demand for clean technologies:

• Implement enhanced and expanded performance standards for vehicles and fuels
• Implement "Green Procurement" standards for state agencies that would apply to the acquisition of all products and assets not designated for use in public emergencies or by emergency services personnel
• Encourage local municipalities and regional governments to implement "Smart Growth" policies that promote urban infill, lower the average level of VMT, reduce congestion and limit suburban sprawl
• Require mandatory retrofit of energy efficiency measures at the point of transfer or sale for all commercial and residential buildings
• Introduce a revenue-neutral "fee-bate" program for vehicle manufacturers that is calibrated to the expected lifetime emissions of light-duty vehicles for sale in California

Programs to facilitate financing of investments in clean technologies by end-users:

• Develop a California Carbon Bank and Trust to fund research, development, and demonstration projects in clean technologies by small businesses
• Encourage public-private partnerships to "green" state buildings through the sale to private concerns of state-owned real estate assets and their subsequent lease-back by state agencies
• Provide low-interest financing for residential and commercial investment in energy efficiency measures, water use efficiency measures, or renewable energy technologies using funds from tax-exempt bonds
• Require mandatory retrofit of energy efficiency measures at the point of transfer or sale for all commercial and residential buildings
• Encourage the use of Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) to facilitate third-party financing of investment in energy efficiency measures and renewable energy technologies

Policies, strategies, and approaches to improve institutional coordination and streamline regulatory processes:

• Designate a "Wizard of Woo," a master marketer and facilitator, whose office would have a mandate to attract clean technology investments to California. The office would act as the primary focal point for information on available clean technologies and on the permitting requirements for new or expanded clean tech facilities within the state
• Appoint a "Clean Tech Czar" in the Governor's office who would receive quarterly reports from all state agency heads summarizing the impact of their agency's programs on statewide GHG emissions during the previous quarter

Programs, campaigns, and strategies to encourage firms to locate clean tech manufacturing and production facilities in California:

• Create "Green Enterprise Zones" that incorporate single permits for the establishment of clean tech manufacturing businesses (1) meeting pre-set performance standards for emissions and waste; and (2) producing energy efficiency systems, water use efficiency systems, renewable energy technologies or advanced vehicles
• Modify the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Technology Financing Authority (CAEFTA) to allow financing of alternative energy manufacturing facilities
• Designate a "Wizard of Woo," a master marketer and facilitator, whose office would have a mandate to attract clean technology investments to California. The office would act as the primary focal point for information on available clean technologies and on the permitting requirements for new or expanded clean tech facilities within the state