BRIEFLY

New head of state registry confirmed

Planning Commissioner Gary Gero on Monday was confirmed as president of the California Climate Action Registry, a nonprofit statewide greenhouse gas reporting organization.

Gero has been serving as interim president of the group since October.

As president, Gero is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of the registry’s voluntary programs that measure, verify and publicly report the greenhouse gas emissions of industry participants. The organization was originally created by the state in 2001.

The California Air Resources Board — which plays a major role in regulating air quality — voted Dec. 6 to require polluters, like power plants, to report their emissions to the registry starting in 2009.

Glendale Water & Power has won awards over the past two years for successfully participating in the registry.

Utilities and other polluters have voluntarily participated in the rigorous reporting programs so that steps taken now to reduce emissions can be measured against the verified data before strict regulations are put in place. In return, state officials have agreed to take those preemptive steps into consideration when imposing future emissions reduction goals.Gero’s confirmation is part of a long history of working for environmental issues through local government, primarily as air quality director and then assistant general manager for the Environmental Affairs Department for Los Angeles. For the past several years, he has also managed the Green LA programs for the Department of Water and Power there.