California's air quality regulators approved a plan to meet the state's ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals, but they didn't like it.
The document produced by the California Air Resources Board has been criticized for being thin on actionable detail and relying on unrealistic carbon removal technologies. The air board is confident that the plan will set the state on a path to prevent the worst effects of climate change.
"Implementing this plan will achieve deep decarbonization of our entire economy, protect public health, and provide a solid foundation for continued economic growth and drastically reduce our state's dependence on fossil fuel combustion," said CARB chair Liane M. The fourth largest economy in the world is taking an aggressive and comprehensive action on climate.
The goal of the plan is to reduce the state's yearly emissions by 50 million metric tons by 2045 in order to achieve carbon neutral.
The plan sets more aggressive goals, aiming to cut emissions to 48% below 1990 levels instead of 40%, and reduce oil use by 94% by 2045, compared to the September version.
Critics said that California isn't on track to meet its goals. Danny Cullenward is a climate economist who is on an advisory committee for the state's system for trading greenhouse gas credits.
There are a lot of important things in this document, but they will not be found in it. He said that the technical analysis underlying the document was farcical.
The plan is so high that it doesn't connect to any of the decisions the board has to make.
California's cap and trade program will factor into meeting emission reduction goals despite it being a pillar of the state's climate change strategy according to a document.
Over the next decade, the plan envisions a sweeping electrification of its transportation sector, industry and home powered with clean energy, from vehicles, trucks and trains to commercial buildings and home appliances. According to CARB estimates, it will cost $18 billion in 2035 and $27 billion in 2045.
The board's commitments to environmental justice, as well as working with indigenous communities and partnerships with the private sector are detailed in the document. The impacts of environmental pollution in low-income communities of color were lamented by many advocates before the board's vote.
The California Environmental Justice Alliance applauds the call for an inter-agency process to coordinate the phase down of oil refining and extraction in California.
The plan still paves the way for billions of dollars in subsidies for oil and gas executives by using carbon capture schemes to lock in dirty gas power plants.
The elimination of fossil fuels in the transportation and industrial sectors is one of the goals of the air board's plan. Carbon removal technologies have not been proven to work at a large scale and are seen as risky by some.
The changes will be based on the state's ability to meet increased demand for clean and affordable electricity, as well as a massive scale up of other renewable sources without the addition of new natural gas plants. The transition away from fossil fuels will lead to a huge increase in electricity use.
The plan says that carbon capture and sequestration will be needed tominimize emissions. By 2045, 100 million metric tons of carbon dioxide would be captured, compressed, and sequestered thanks to carbon removal projects and emission sources.
John Balmes, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, is a member of the Air Resources Board.
He thinks we need to be on top of this technology. I hope that we could reach our carbon neutrality goal in 2045 by reducing primary sources, even though the legislature and the governor have expressed interest in it. We're going to see.
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