Transportation policy experts at UC Davis and UC Berkeley will draft the new, groundbreaking air-quality standard to reduce carbon emissions from transportation fuels that Gov. Schwarzenegger announced today.

Top state officials described the new standard at a news conference today, and the governor highlighted it in tonight's State of the State address.

In a news release, Gov. Schwarzenegger's office said the new standard would be "the world's first greenhouse gas standard for transportation fuels" and said it would "spark research in alternatives to oil, boost clean technology industry in California and reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

The European Union is expected to follow California's lead later this year.

The release also said: "By 2020 the standard will reduce the carbon intensity of California's passenger vehicle fuels by at least 10 percent. This first-of-its kind standard will support AB 32 emissions targets as part of California's overall strategy to fight global warming."

Transportation fuels account for 41 percent of the state's emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs).

Dan Sperling is one of four experts from UC Davis and UC Berkeley writing the policy. He is director of UC Davis' Institute of Transportation Studies and an international authority on research and development in advanced transportation fuels and fuel technology.

Sperling said: "This very innovative and very important new policy will be a model for the rest of the world. It will help the state reduce oil imports, reduce greenhouse gases, and boost investments in alternative fuels. It will steer energy policy and investments for many years."

The three other UC researchers who will design and analyze the policy for the state during the next three months are:

• Bryan Jenkins, an expert in converting biomass to energy and leader of the Bioenergy Research Group at UC Davis. He also directs the California Biomass Collaborative, a mostly state-funded organization that helps coordinate industry, government, academic and environmental groups' work on biomass management and use in California.
• Joan Ogden, a UC Davis professor of environmental science and policy, and co-director of the ITS-Davis Sustainable Transportation Energy Pathways Program. Her primary research interest is technical and economic assessment of new energy technologies, especially in the areas of alternative fuels, fuel cells, renewable energy and energy conservation.
• Alex Farrell, an assistant professor in the UC Berkeley Energy and Resources Group and director of UC Berkeley's new Joint Center for Transportation Sustainability Research, which brings together six Berkeley campus research groups.

Sperling and Farrell will co-direct the drafting project.