WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: With support from California’s Cap-and-Invest Program, also known as Cap-and-Trade, the state is funding community air protection efforts in 19 communities that suffer from the highest levels of air pollution in the state. Results from the Community Air Protection Program include over 9,000 local projects and hundreds of new and innovative clean air strategies.  

SACRAMENTO – More than four million Californians who live in some of the state’s most polluted communities are seeing real improvements in air quality, thanks to California’s Community Air Protection Program (//ww2.arb.ca.gov/capp/community-air-protection-program). A new progress report (//ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2025-06/OCAP_APR2024_Final.pdf) from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) highlights how community-led solutions are cutting emissions, strengthening enforcement of clean air policies, and delivering cleaner, healthier air around the state.  

Established in 2017 by Assembly Bill 617 and supported by Cap-and-Invest revenue, the program places community voices at the center of efforts to reduce air pollution and protect public health in the state’s most impacted areas.  

“The Community Air Protection Program has become a critical tool for improving air quality in areas most impacted by sources of pollution,” said CARB Chair Liane Randolph. “As one of the hallmark efforts funded by Cap-and-Invest revenue, it is recognized as a national model for substantially and cost-effectively reducing harmful emissions in vulnerable communities. The success of the program is a testament to the power of partnerships and a result of our collective commitment to the pursuit of clean air for all Californians.”   

In each of the 19 communities the program supports, CARB and the local air districts have established partnerships to develop plans to address local pollution problems where people live, work and play. Explore the progress these 19 community-led efforts are making in this interactive StoryMap (https://gis.carb.arb.ca.gov/Portal/apps/experiencebuilder/experience/?id=8bb7f18011ba48c0bafce87bd8620b24&views=View-15). CARB is now expanding the program’s offerings to 64 communities in coordination with other regulatory partners.  

Turning Cap-and-Invest Revenues into Lasting Air Quality Gains 

Funded through the state’s Cap-and-Invest Program (//ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/cap-and-trade-program), CARB has directed $632 million to more than 9,000 incentive projects since 2017 (https://gis.carb.arb.ca.gov/Portal/apps/experiencebuilder/experience/?draft=true&id=fa898fba4d024c568d7e228b83cd1246&page=CAP-Incentives&views=View-29), with 85% of the funding reaching disadvantaged and low-income communities — far exceeding investment targets set by the Board. 

The projects vary widely across the state based on community priorities including: 

• Swapping out thousands of dirty old lawnmowers with electric replacements for landscapers and residents throughout the San Joaquin Valley. 

• Reducing dust exposure by funding paving of school parking lots, urban greening projects, and installing air filtration systems in schools in the Imperial Valley. 

• Helping fund a first-in-the-nation electric tugboat at the Port of San Diego, which will eliminate 30,000 gallons of diesel pollution per year. 

The projects are producing permanent, enforceable reductions in harmful air pollutants, including reducing: 

• 23,000+ tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx )— equivalent to removing about 22.5 million cars from the road for an entire year. 

• 950 tons of diesel particulate matter — equivalent to annual emissions from up to two million heavy-duty trucks. 

• 282,600 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions — equivalent to emissions from driving a gasoline-powered car nearly 872 million miles.  

On-the-Ground Progress Across the State 

The report highlights several community-driven successes across California including: 

• West Oakland: In West Oakland, a combination of actions, which included incentives to repower 13 tugboats with cleaner engines, existing and new statewide regulations, and other changes, led to a 31% reduction in cancer-causing diesel emissions between 2017 and 2024, across an area of 29,000 residents. 

• Shafter, Eastern Coachella Valley, and Arvin/Lamont: Communities in Shafter, Arvin and Lamont in Kern County, and in East Coachella Valley advocated for a pesticide notification strategy in their plans, which eventually led to Governor Newsom allocating $10 million to the Department of Pesticide Regulation for a statewide regulatory pesticide use notification system (https://spraydays.cdpr.ca.gov/) for neighborhoods near agricultural operations.  

• Arvin/Lamont, Shafter, and South Los Angeles: CARB’s California Methane Task Force conducted 232 well and nine tank inspections in coordination with the California Geologic Energy Management Division, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, addressing methane leaks and issuing notices of violation where needed. 

• San Ysidro’s International Border Communities: With support from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant, CARB launched a pilot air monitoring project to study cross-border emissions, border wait times, traffic pollution, odors from the Tijuana River, and other community concerns. Real-time monitoring of air pollutants is now underway. 

• South Los Angeles: CARB proposed amendments to two rules that reduce cancer-causing volatile organic compounds from motor vehicle assembly and solvent cleaning operations in response to community concern.  

New Rules and Regulations Are Protecting Community Air  

The largest permanent emission reductions achieved in the program are through new air district rules and regulations. Examples include: 

• South Coast Air Quality Management District updated a series of combustion rules incorporating new emission standards that are expected to achieve 5,475 tons per year of NOx emission reductions.  

• Bay Area Air District adopted a rule that substantially reduces the major source of particulate matter from the five Bay Area refineries every year, specifically from petroleum refinery fluidized catalytic cracking units, which are some of the largest individual sources of air pollution in the Bay Area.  

• Imperial County Air Pollution Control District established a regulation for agricultural burning that has reduced burning in the county by about 50%, or 10,000 acres annually.  

• San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District adopted solid fuel combustion furnace and glass furnace regulations that will significantly reduce air pollution in Fresno and other Central Valley communities.  

Expanding the Program’s Reach 

Adopted in 2023, CARB’s Blueprint 2.0 (//ww2.arb.ca.gov/capp/mdc/bp2/community-air-protection-program-blueprint-20) expands the program to 64 communities that have been consistently nominated for the program — areas that continue to experience high pollution burdens. This next phase focuses on: 

• Supporting community-based capacity building and local emissions reduction plan development with grant funding; 48 community air grants have been awarded in these communities to date.  

• Implementing community-focused enforcement strategies. 

• Increasing funding flexibility and efficiency to respond to local needs, such as urban greening projects and indoor air filtration projects. 

To support these communities, the Statewide Mobile Monitoring Initiative (SMMI) was launched in June (//ww2.arb.ca.gov/news/carb-launches-mobile-air-monitoring-underserved-communities-part-first-its-kind-initiative). The $27 million pilot project is using specially equipped vehicles to collect block-by-block pollution data to support actions to protect public health. 

What Community Leaders Are Saying About the Program  

Jazmine Latour of the Stockton Steering Commitee: “Our air quality is the way it is because people have been making decisions for us and not with us, and so it's really important for community members to be a part of those conversations and to make decisions for ourselves.”   

Diahna Garcia-Ruiz of the Heber Community Steering Committee: “I was raised here and I walked to school. Every time there was rain, we knew we had to leave at least 30 minutes early even though we were only four blocks away because we had to run in and out of the streets. By the time we got to school, we were mud up to our knees...As I grew older and I had my own children, I knew that I wanted them to grow up here because it's such a beautiful town and it's so united, but I wanted them to grow up with pride and dignity in their community. When the opportunity came for AB 617 and they told me we may be able to provide some sidewalks, I thought this is perfect.”    

Nayamin Martinez of the Central California Environmental Justice Network: “Terra Bella residents decided to include strategies to increase their climate resiliency, particularly to wildfires and extreme heat. The community does not have a community center or any place that can be a hub during a natural disaster. The school had raised funds to build a gymnasium; they had the desire to help transform this into a hub, but not the economic means to do it. CCEJN was able to establish a partnership with the Public Health Institute and the Terra Bella School District to submit a proposal to the state’s Extreme Heat Program. The grant was approved, and the building is under construction.”   

Maritza Garcia of the Portside Community Steering Committee: “To make these disparities not an abstract idea but in the moment — this is what's happening, and we are real people that are being affected by this — that brings a lot of accountability that I don't think was ever really there before... To have a space where not only are we able to voice those concerns but be on an equal level with other people and have our opinions valued, is just it's so empowering." 

Dr. Anissa Cessa Heard-Johnson of the South Coast Air Quality Management District: “Although our work is within AB 617 communities, we have an intentionality to treat our approach as foundational for the agency. This shift shows how we work with all communities with a mindful approach to strengthen cross-community collaborations.” 

Dr. Jonathan London of University of California, Davis: "It will be helpful to consider policies such as AB 617, not just as clean air programs, but as strategies to build grassroots democracy." 

More Information 

You can read more interactive and detailed stories of these projects in the Community Air Protection Progress highlights (https://gis.carb.arb.ca.gov/Portal/apps/experiencebuilder/experience/?id=8bb7f18011ba48c0bafce87bd8620b24). 

The Community Air Protection Program is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities.