California Air Resources Board

The Proposed Five-Year Plan was presented to the Board and approved on September 25, 2025. A final version of the Five-Year Plan is available for download below.

• Five-Year Strategic Research Plan for Funding Years 2025-2030
  • Fact Sheet
• Appendix A – Proposed Research Projects for Funding Years 2024-2026
• Appendix B – Recent Research Final Reports: March 2021 – Present
• Appendix C – Environmental Justice and Racial Equity in CARB Research
• Appendix D – In-House Research Projects
• Appendix E – Impact of CARB Research Program Work in the Literature
• Appendix F – Database of Research Priorities Submitted to CARB for Consideration in the Five-Year Strategic Research Plan

For past Strategic Plans, visit the archive of past plans.

What is in the Plan?

The CARB Research Program develops multi-year Strategic Research Plans to guide the annual selection of research projects. The Five-Year Plan outlines current research efforts and priority research needs for 2025-2030. These priorities build on past research and aim to support CARB’s policies and regulations while advancing the state of the science. For over 50 years, CARB has relied on peer-reviewed science to establish public policy and deliver clean air for Californians. CARB’s research studies can also provide a foundation for policies to protect public health and the environment in other regions. The state continues its unwavering commitment to advance public policy informed by robust science and data.

Over the next five years, CARB will pursue a mix of external contracts and in-house research studies. Each fiscal year’s projects will be posted on this website as appendices to the Five-Year Plan. Results are typically available three to five years after a project begins.

How was the Plan Developed?

In 2024, the CARB Research Program began the public process of drafting the Proposed Five-Year Plan. Two parallel efforts informed its development: an open public survey, launched at a public meeting, to gather initial research priorities; and a CARB-funded collaboration with community-based organizations to identify community research needs. Both processes offered opportunities for public input, which shaped the priorities in the Proposed Plan. For more information, please visit the Environmental Justice in CARB Future Research Priorities page.