A major California climate program is about to receive a tough assignment — delivering big greenhouse gas emissions cuts while protecting consumers from major cost hikes.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) plans to sign legislation extending California’s statewide carbon market through 2045 and potentially making the market more aggressive in reducing plant-warming emissions.
AB 1207 also requires the California Air Resources Board, or CARB, which runs the market, to try to avoid making consumers pay excessively for the additional emissions cuts through higher gasoline prices and other costs.
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“It probably won’t be easy,” said Meredith Fowlie, faculty director of the Energy Institute at University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
