SACRAMENTO, California — California climate regulators on Wednesday proposed slashing the number of greenhouse gas permits they sell to industry through 2030 to get closer to hitting an increasingly out-of-reach emissions reduction target.
What happened: California Air Resources Board staff presented the preliminary draft proposal for the state’s cap-and-invest program on Wednesday. It marked the first detailed presentation since Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed legislation last month, AB 1207, reauthorizing the program through 2045.
The draft proposal would lower the overall allowable emissions under the trading program by 118 million metric tons of carbon dioxide over the years from 2027 to 2030, a significant tightening of the cap. And it would make it harder for businesses to count offsets, which represent projects they pay for to reduce global-warming emissions, toward their allowable limit.
Why this matters: California’s carbon trading program is the state’s main way to hit its greenhouse gas emissions reduction mandates, which begin ratcheting down significantly in the coming years in order to hit carbon neutrality by 2045.
