California lost up to $3 billion in potential revenue over the past year because it stalled action updating a key climate change policy, a report released Monday said.
The money would have come through California’s carbon market cap-and-trade program, which sets a yearly limit on greenhouse gas emissions and forces the state’s top polluters to buy pollution allowances. The state spends some of the allowance revenue on programs that address climate change.
But the price of pollution allowances dropped significantly over the past year following delays in cap-and-trade updates that had been planned in 2024 to make the program more aggressive in restricting emissions, a new report from Clean and Prosperous California said. The nonprofit advocates for action on climate change.
The update is now stalled indefinitely. The law authorizing the program expires in 2030, and the California Legislature has said it plans to extend authorization through 2045.
