California Air Resources Board

SACRAMENTO - The first update to the Scoping Plan, the state’s comprehensive climate action plan, affirms that California is on track to meet the goals of AB 32, the pioneering climate change legislation designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect the environment and drive innovation and clean energy.

The Update also builds on the success of programs now in place and first outlined in the original 2008 Scoping Plan.  Those programs are part of a comprehensive plan that is successfully lowering the state’s ‘carbon intensity.’  While California’s economic growth continues to outpace most other states and the national average, the amount of carbon pollution related to the economy overall has dropped.  

"California has shown that we can grow our economy more efficiently with less carbon emitted into the atmosphere. We now get twice as much production from a ton of greenhouse gases as the rest of the country, and we know we can do more," said California Air Resources Board Chairman Mary D. Nichols. “The Update builds on that success, and sets in place reasonable measures for all sectors to ensure that we continue to grow our economy while further reducing carbon pollution.”

The Update continues California’s legacy of building a world-class economy with effective environmental and public health policies. Each sector will have a role to play. Multiple state agencies will continue to develop a comprehensive approach to reduce emissions from the energy and transportation sector. The Update also highlights roles for the water, agriculture, forestry and natural resources sectors to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen those sectors against the impacts of climate change.

The bolder approach to sectorial strategies includes establishing long-range integrated planning and goals for all sectors, including waste management and green buildings. “This focus on sector-specific goals and integrated planning provides a detailed context for the ongoing discussion of effective investment of cap-and-trade proceeds," said Chairman Nichols.

The Update also includes a comprehensive effort to fast-track the reduction of so-called ‘short-lived climate pollutants.’ These include powerful greenhouse gases such as black carbon and methane.  Their reduction will deliver significant public health and climate benefits in the very near-term.

An intense focus on further emission reductions from the transportation sector includes particular attention to freight and goods movement. The Update also looks more closely for related health and economic co-benefits between California’s efforts to control smog and greenhouse gas emissions.

As for California consumers, the Update outlines how emissions from cars will continue to decline with larger numbers of cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars and higher volumes of clean fuels.  In addition to reducing emissions, California’s suite of climate policies is reducing fuel costs for California drivers.  By 2020, California drivers will spend about 30 percent less on fuel than they did in 2012, on average, and will emit 30 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions.  Those cost and emissions savings will grow further after 2020.



The Update’s focus on reducing carbon over both the short and long term provides certainty to industry and sends the right signal to investors, ensuring that California will continue to receive the lion’s share of private-sector investment in clean technology, driving continued job generation.

To view the AB 32 Scoping Plan Update, go here: http://bit.ly/1oUVlKR

For mobile devices, go here: https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/scopingplan/2013_update/scoping_plan_mobile.pdf

To access the graphs and graphics used in the Scoping Plan Update, go here: http://bit.ly/1gtiZhZ

For more information on AB 32: