Susan Kennedy, Schwarzenegger's chief of staff, told the panel Wednesday that if California and the other 11 states implement the new standards, the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by 2020 would be reduced by 400 million metric tons — the equivalent of taking 74 million cars off the road for a year.

Anderson warned that without a dramatic reduction in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, life on Earth is threatened.

"As a nation, we face serious challenges from the alarming warming of our planet due in large part to the burning of fossil fuels," Anderson said. "Droughts, heat waves, hurricanes, floods and other extreme weather events are projected — in fact, virtually certain — to become more frequent and severe due to global warming."

He said rising sea levels threaten coastal communities around the world and could lead to millions of environmental refugees. He cited a 2006 report by former World Bank chief economist Nicholas Stern that inaction on climate change could reduce the world's gross domestic product by 20 percent.

Anderson also referred to a 2004 Pentagon report warning that tension among nations would become worse following the social and economic havoc brought on by global warming.

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