Dive Brief:
- California’s Cap-and-Invest program — a carbon-pricing mechanism that places a firm cap on major sources of greenhouse gas emissions throughout the state — has generated $36.2 billion for climate investments since its inception in 2013, according to a new report from the California Air Resources Board.
- CARB, the agency tasked with managing the program and implementing California’s climate laws, noted in the report that $15.5 billion from this figure has already been deployed across 122 programs to back over 600,000 projects that aim to deliver clean air, energy efficiency, affordability and emissions reductions.
- The report, released to the state legislature on Monday, also noted that 76% of the funding deployed specifically targets disadvantaged and low-income communities and households.
Dive Insight:
The program, formerly known as Cap-and-Trade, was established to curb California's carbon footprint, making it the first U.S. state to adopt such a mechanism. The program is designed to run through 2045, covers around 80% of the state’s emissions and applies to facilities emitting 25,000 metric tons or more of carbon dioxide equivalent annually. Covered entities, which include major polluters like power plants and oil refineries, are required to surrender a tradeable permit for every metric ton of carbon they emit.
The program was revised earlier this year with the aim of bringing statewide emissions down to meet California’s target of a 40% reduction in emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.
The Cap-and-Invest program also drove emission reductions worth 130.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, according to the report. CARB said this would help bring California closer to achieving its climate and air quality goals.
CARB’s report also noted that the program delivered around $44.4 billion in cost savings from decreased fuel consumption, lower transit expenses and reduced household energy bills.
“For over a decade, Cap-and-Invest has been an important funding source for many of the state’s priorities,” CARB Chair Lauren Sanchez said in a July 20 press release. “This landmark policy is responsible for reducing the state’s largest sources of emissions and directing billions of dollars into communities that suffer most from environmental harm.”
