California Air Resources Board

Since 2017, the California Legislature has budgeted $1.4 billion to support Assembly Bill (AB) 617 (C. Garcia, Chapter 136, Statutes of 2017) with incentives administered by local air districts in partnership with communities. The Community Air Protection Incentives Program (CAP Incentives Program) puts advanced technologies to work for cleaner air in the California communities that are most heavily impacted by disproportionate levels of air pollution.

Today, AB 617 continues to ensure Californians that are disproportionately impacted by air pollution can take measures to fund projects which provide immediate benefits to their communities. The CAP Incentives Program brings residents and organizations together with their local air quality district and CARB staff to implement community-driven solutions that tackle the specific environmental challenges each area faces.

In April 2024, CARB updated the CAP Incentives Guidelines to enhance opportunities for disadvantaged communities, particularly those that have been consistently nominated, by expanding eligibility and creating new project categories from selected actions and stationary source project categories that were developed in the first five years of the program through Community Emission Reduction Programs.

Program History

Legislature initially directed air districts to fund projects for mobile sources according to the Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program and the Proposition 1B Goods Movement Emission Reduction Program.

In 2018, the Legislature provided additional direction to fund incentives for stationary sources and projects consistent with Community Emissions Reduction Programs. In May 2019, CARB created the Community Air Protection Incentives Guidelines (CAP Incentives Guidelines), which met this new legislative direction by incorporating broad direction on AB 617 implementation, included in the original Community Air Protection Blueprint 1.0, as well as funding elements from the California Climate Investments Funding Guidelines and the Carl Moyer Program Guidelines.

In August 2020, CARB updated the CAP Incentives Guidelines to add criteria for stationary source and community-identified projects. This update provided additional flexibility to the guidelines by creating a process for communities and districts to expand the types of projects that could be developed based on community priorities.  

In October 2023, the Board approved the update to the program’s statewide strategy, Community Air Protection Blueprint 2.0 (Blueprint 2.0). Blueprint 2.0 centers our focus on equity, environmental justice, and civil rights and makes a commitment to increase flexibility in the use of CAP Incentives across the State.