A year after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, into law, some Californians believe the drive for strict measures to counteract global warming is on autopilot. That’s not exactly true.

While AB 32 reduces California’s greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, five of the 13 years between now and then have been set aside for figuring out how to make it happen. In those five years, through a public process, policy makers will determine who will pay to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and how. There’ll be politicking, wrangling, and legal challenges.

As the government agency charged with spearheading the process, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has been announcing various “Early Action Measures.” The public comments on CARB’s latest announcement offer a sneak preview of what’s to come: Truckers complaining that the diesel truck measures unfairly single them out; a representative from Edwards Air Force Base explaining that methane capture on its landfill would not be feasible or cost-effective; and a Western Region representative of the Dupont Company urging CARB to establish market mechanisms before establishing mandatory regulations.

The comments all hinge on language in AB 32 that requires the final set of “solutions” to be feasible, cost-effective and fairly distributed across the sectors. “One of the concerns is that [industries] only have to do their fair share,” says Devra Wang, who is working on AB 32 for the National Resources Defense Council, “but figuring out what that means is going to be one of the things CARB will need to look at, and I expect debate.”

Those involved in the process are trying to remain positive, circumventing the prickly regulatory questions with “that’s one of the things we have to work out.” There are a lot of those things.

CARB has until Jan. 1 to define 1990-level emissions and adopt an enforceable greenhouse gas reporting process. In terms of how such a process will be carried out, however, Doug Quetin of the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District isn’t sure how – or if – it will affect his agency.

The sparks may start flying as early as Oct. 31, when CARB holds a public workshop, which will be webcast, on the proposed regulation to set mandatory reporting for electricity, oil, cement, and other high-emitting industries.