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ByDonThompson TheAssociatedPress SACRAMENTO As the U.S. and China — the world's top two polluting nations — turn to implementing new rules aimed at curbing cli- mate change, the countries can look to the most popu- lous U.S. state as an exam- ple of the costs and chal- lenges of fighting global warming. California already has imposed some of the world's toughest air quality stan- dards as it moves aggres- sively to lower emissions. The state's cap-and-trade program, launched nearly three years ago, offers one of the few real-world labo- ratories on how to reduce carbon emissions. The state has opted to impose extra costs on businesses that emit pollutants. Next year, the program will be expanded to in- clude companies that pro- duce gasoline and other fu- els, prompting predictions that consumers will see a spike in prices to cover the costs. Gov. Jerry Brown, a Dem- ocrat, has been unapolo- getic about the program, saying there needs to be a completely new way of thinking if the world is go- ing to curb carbon emis- sions. "California has the most integrated response and strategy to deal with cli- mate change of any political jurisdiction in the world," Brown said in an interview before he was re-elected this month. "What happens here doesn't stay here, it goes all around the globe." Brown also said he in- tends to push for even tougher greenhouse gas emission reduction goals that will be far more diffi- cult to meet by 2030. The current goal is to reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases to 1990 levels by 2020. California's carbon emis- sions law already has cost in- dustrial polluters nearly $2.3 billion in permit fees. Start- ing next year, the law will in- clude fuel distributors in the same cap-and-trade market- place as utilities and major manufacturers. "California is the living experiment right now," said Jay McKeeman, a California Independent Oil Marketers Association vice president. "They are, as far as I know, the only government entity that's fully engaging on a variety of fronts regarding greenhouse gas reductions." The state is also a leader in setting building and ap- pliance energy efficiency standards, requiring the use of renewable energy and setting low carbon fuel standards. The state's cap-and-trade program has grabbed the most recent attention. It limits, or caps, the amount of heat-trapping gases com- panies can emit by requir- ing companies to pay for each ton of pollution emit- ted. The price is set at an auction. Polluters that cut emissions below the cap can sell their leftover pollution permits to companies that produce more pollution. Including fuels such as gasoline, natural gas, pro- pane and heating oil un- der the program has McK- eeman and others predict- ing it will bump prices at the pump next year, though estimates vary widely and gasoline prices otherwise have been on a steep de- cline. Mary Nichols, chair- woman of the California Air Resources Board, which regulates the cap-and-trade law, has said oil companies are not required to pass on the costs to consumers and should absorb the cost of the allowances. Cap-and-trade is a key component of AB32, the landmark law signed by former Gov. Arnold Schwar- zenegger, a Republican, in 2006. But other provisions, such as requiring energy efficiency, renewable en- ergy and lower-carbon fu- els, also are intended to pro- mote changes in Califor- nians' transportation and energy consumption habits. Adrienne Alvord, Cali- fornia and western states director of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said California's success has happened at the same time the economy is growing. "There was a prediction that our energy costs would be prohibitive and indus- tries would be leaving the state," she said. "We just haven't seen that." Brown has tried to be a leader in promoting the state's climate change pro- grams internationally, sign- ing agreements with China and officials in other nations. China this week set a tar- get for its emissions to peak by about 2030, while Pres- ident Barack Obama set a goal to cut U.S. emissions. Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president of the Western States Petroleum Associa- tion, was pleased with the international agreement in part because she is con- cerned that California's go- it-alone policies will harm consumers and businesses while having little practi- cal impact. COSTS, CHALLENGES Ca li fo rn ia l ea ds b y ex am pl e on c li mat e cha ng e BECKDIEFENBACH‑THEASSOCIATEDPRESS FILE Gov. Jerry Brown, front right, and China's National Development and Reform Commission Vice Chairman Xie Zhenhua, front le , sign an agreement to boost bilateral cooperation on climate change during a news conference at the Bay Area Council, in San Francisco. By Ellen Knickmeyer The Associated Press SANFRANCISCO BP and its traders routinely manipu- lated prices to overcharge California as much as $300 million when it sold natural gas to the state, California and a fired BP employee al- lege in a lawsuit against the British energy company. The BP employee, who had helped administer $2 billion in exclusive gas con- tracts with California, filed the case as a whistleblower, and it was kept under seal while California Attorney General Kamala Harris de- cided whether to join the litigation. Harris' office notified San Francisco County Su- perior Court earlier this month that the state would join the case, and Judge Er- nest Goldsmith made the lawsuit public in an order Wednesday. For the past decade, Cali- fornia's Department of Gen- eral Services entered into exclusive contracts with BP PLC to provide natu- ral gas for state entities in hopes of locking in a rea- sonable and stable price, the lawsuit says. Instead, the state alleges, BP sellers routinely sold natural gas to the state at a price well above market price, and BP reaped a profit margin that typically was at least three times what was set in the contract. Through the overcharges, BP "made more of a profit margin off California than any other customer," Niall McCarthy, a San Francisco attorney representing state agencies in the civil lawsuit, said Thursday. BP called the allegations in the lawsuit "meritless." "We will respond to the claims in detail through le- gal filings to be made at the appropriate time," the com- pany said in an emailed statement. The case was originally brought by Christopher Schroen, who handled the day-to-day natural gas sales to California for BP from 2004 until he was fired in 2012, when the high costs of the contract were com- ing under greater scrutiny, the lawsuit alleges. Schroen alleges senior BP managers oversaw and ap- proved the overcharges, in- cluding signing off daily on profit margins higher than those set in the contract. In an email, David Bel- tran, a spokesman for the attorney general, said the state was intervening in the case "to secure account- ability and protect Califor- nia taxpayers." The lawsuit states that some of the BP contracts run through 2017, and Mc- Carthy, the private attor- ney, said some state bodies have renewed the contracts despite the lawsuit alleging routine overcharging. A spokesman for Califor- nia's Department of Gen- eral Services said he could not immediately speak re- garding the contracts or le- gal case. BP shares fell 51 cents, or 1.2 percent, to close at $40.67 Thursday. They were down another 5 cents in af- terhours trading. LAWSUIT California accuses BP of inflating gas contract The Associated Press OAKLAND Cat lovers in Northern California are pouncing at the chance of spending time with feline company at a new cat cafe in Oakland. Cat Town Cafe is giv- ing dozens of visitors a chance to mingle with furry friends while sipping coffee and nibbling on cat- themed cookies. The cafe opened last month and has been full since opening day. It was inspired by the cat cafe craze in Japan, where many people live in cramped high-rise apartments that don't allow pets. But while in Japan mak- ing feline friends became popular therapy for lonely or anxious workers, at the Oakland coffee shop the fo- cus is on the cats. The tuxedo, orange tabby, and Siamese cats napping or stretching in the sun in Cat Town come from a local shelter and are available for adoption. "Most of them have been at the shelter for four months or more. So as much as this is a super fun experience, it's really a mission-driven project to get the cats out of the shel- ter and into great homes," said Ann Dunn, founder of Cat Town Oakland, a nonprofit group that helps place cats least likely to be adopted from the Oakland Animal Shelter. She said there were 14 adoptions in their first 12 days. For a $10 donation to the organization, visitors get one hour of kitty com- pany in the cafe, where they can play with fe- lines, get a back or stom- ach kneading session, and watch them nap. Each per- son is given a designated time window to make sure there are not too many people at once in the room with cartoon-like, bright murals of cats. Cat naps are very popu- lar at the cafe but Christina Souza, who visited the cafe a recent afternoon, didn't seem to mind. "I think it's fun. It's great. It's exciting. Why not have more venues where cats can let out their fun personalities?" Souza said. Cat cafes are now open in London, Vienna and Paris and Cat Town found- ers believe their coffee shop is the first of its kind in the United States. That may change soon as a half dozen new cat cafes are set to open in the U.S. next year, most of them along the West Coast. FURRY FRIENDS Feline fanciers flock to cat cafe ERIC RISBERG — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A cat climbs onto a woman sitting on the floor at the Cat Town Cafe in Oakland. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Signs are posted at an entry in the Cat Town Cafe in Oakland. The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Truckers who haul cargo containers in and out of the massive seaports in Los Angeles and Long Beach staged the latest in a string of demonstrations Thursday against what they call unfair labor practices. Dozens of demonstrators set up outside eight of the twin ports' 15 container ter- minals, but spokesmen for each port said there was minimal impact on the movement of containers through terminal gates. The action came amid broader discord on the docks. The union representing longshoremen and the as- sociation representing their employers are trading blame over the slow movement of cargo, even as they negoti- ate a contract to cover all 29 West Coast ports. Those ports handled nearly $900 billion in goods last year and are a vital link in trade with Asia. Truckers have periodi- cally targeted three com- panies they say improperly classify them as contrac- tors, not full-time employ- ees, to minimize wages and benefits. 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