Providing Information and Receiving Feedback

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) will host a two hour-long virtual listening session to gather input on data sources and analytical methods that California could use to track and assess the effects of land management on California’s landscapes. Pursuant to AB 1757, CARB is tasked with “develop[ing] standard methods for state agencies to consistently track greenhouse gas emissions and reductions, carbon sequestration, and, where feasible and in consultation with the Natural Resources Agency and the Department of Food and Agriculture, additional benefits from natural and working lands over time.” The purpose of the listening session is to gather information, and solicit feedback, from the public on current land management reporting and tracking programs as well as about how to best proceed with the process of standardizing and gathering land management data needed to implement the requirements of AB 1757.

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Purpose of the Meeting

The California Air Resources Board (CARB), in coordination with the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), is hosting a public listening session on tracking and assessing the influence of nature-based solutions and other land management activities on California’s landscapes. The first objective of the meeting will be to provide the public with an overview of why the State is interested in gathering information on land management activities; particularly in light of recent directives mandated by Assembly Bill 1757 and the Nature-Based Solutions Climate Targets announced by Governor Newsom in 2024. The primary objective of the meeting will be to gather feedback from the public on the existing or emerging methods to gather, standardize, and assess information on land management activities.

Agenda

This will be a 2-hour long meeting consisting of an introductory presentation by CARB, CNRA, and CDFA staff followed by an open comment and discussion period for members of the public to share their input and recommendations on land management tracking data, methods, and other topics.

Background

The State of California is tasked with tracking and assessing nature-based solution climate action and other land management activities and the effect they are having on ecosystem carbon and the health and resilience of California’s landscapes.

Assembly Bill 1757 (AB 1757, 2022) requires CARB, CNRA, and CDFA to set targets for implementing an extensive set of land management practices over the next 20 years that are collectively referred to as ‘Nature-Based Solutions’. Examples of Nature-Based Solutions include conducting prescribed fire and fuel reduction on burnable landscapes to minimize the risk catastrophic wildfires; restoring disturbed, damaged, or historically altered landscapes; and conserving existing ecosystems. In April 2024, Governor Newsom announced these targets. Further, AB 1757 requires that CARB standardize the methods by which these land management activities are quantified for their contribution to carbon neutrality as well as other co-benefits. AB 1757 also requires that CNRA report on progress towards meeting these targets over time.

Assembly Bill 1279 (AB 1279, 2022) requires that the State of California achieve carbon neutrality no later than 2045. To track progress towards this target, CARB must assess the influence that land management activities are having on landscape carbon stocks and greenhouse gas emissions in order to estimate how present and future changes in land management will affect California's path to neutrality.