January 2023 | Volume 14, Issue 6

Read the full article on CNN.

According to the article, California’s air regulators approved an aggressive plan recently for the state to reach carbon neutrality by 2045 – in line with legislation signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022.

The plan, approved by the California Air Resources Board, looks to move one of the largest economies in the world to renewable energy and away from fossil fuels.

Known as the Scoping Plan, the actions and policies aim to slash fossil fuel usage to less than a tenth of current consumption by decreasing demand for liquid petroleum by 94 percent by 2045, mainly driven by a move away from gas-powered vehicles.

The board also says the plan will cut air pollution by 71 percent and gas emissions by 85 percent to below 1990 levels. Both goals are consistent with targets laid out in Governor Gavin Newsom’s $54.1 billion climate commitment intended to protect residents from wildfires, extreme heat and drought while moving away from big oil.

The plan will create four million jobs and save Californians some $200 billion in health costs for pollution-related illnesses by 2045, the board said, providing a path for California to meet its climate targets.

“California is leading the world’s most significant economic transformation since the Industrial Revolution – we’re cutting pollution, turning the page on fossil fuels and creating millions of new jobs,” said Newsom in a press release after the plan was approved.

After a public comment session, board members acknowledged that this plan is a roadmap to cutting greenhouse gases, and that not all of what is laid out may come to fruition.

One focus of the plan is a move to zero-emission transportation, including both personal vehicles and mass transit. While fossil fuels used in homes are also targeted, the state said gas-powered vehicles and other transportation are currently the largest source of carbon emissions.

In August, the board approved a rule requiring all passenger vehicles sold in the state to be zero-emission by 2035.

Beginning in 2026, all new residential buildings will be required to install electric appliances and in 2029, the requirements will begin extending to commercial buildings, according to the plan. For existing residential buildings, all appliance sales are required to be electric by 2035. Ten years later, all commercial buildings in the state will have to follow suit, the plan said.

While the board called the plan “achievable” some critics say the plan relies too much on what some of the board members acknowledged is an unproven method of carbon capture and sequestration instead of relying on natural and working lands to also house some of that carbon.

“This plan is failing the people of California and our planet – first by endorsing carbon capture, a faulty climate scheme promoted by the fossil fuel industry,” said Chirag Bhakta, the California state director for Food & Water Watch, in a statement to the media.

“Carbon capture is a completely unproven and unworkable technology that only serves to provide cover for oil and gas drillers to continue business as usual,” Bhakta said.

The scoping plan also targets wildfires which are not only responsible for the destruction of forests, buildings, and property, but also emit copious amounts of carbon dioxide.

In recent years, human-driven climate change has spurred massive blazes. The board pointing out that of the 20 largest wildfires in California, nine happened in 2020 and 2021.

The plan sets a goal of treating one million acres a year by 2025 through actions like prescribed burns and increased forest management. Currently, about 100,000 acres are treated each year.

Discussion Questions

  1. Define carbon neutrality.

    Carbon neutrality is a state of equilibrium in which the same amount of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere as is removed by various means, leaving a zero balance, also known as a zero-carbon footprint (A carbon footprint is defined as the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an individual, an organization, a service, or a product). According to the United Nations, it is possible for the world to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, provided that countries: (1) set a price for carbon emissions that makes it possible to invest in its removal and in the development low-emission alternatives, such as renewable energy; (2) stop building new coal-powered power stations, which are responsible for a large proportion of the emissions; (3) transfer the carbon tax burden from taxpayers to the polluters; (4) mandate the publication of the economic risks associated with the climate; (5) include the goal of carbon neutrality in countries’ financial and fiscal decisions; and (6) strongly encourage or mandate citizens to personally reduce their carbon footprint.
  2. As the article indicates, California’s Scoping Plan aims to slash fossil fuel usage to less than a tenth of current consumption by decreasing demand for liquid petroleum by 94 percent by 2045, (mainly driven by a move away from gas-powered vehicles), cut air pollution by 71 percent, and gas emissions by 85 percent. In your reasoned opinion, are these feasible goals? Are they advisable goals?

    These are opinion questions, so student responses may vary. In your author’s opinion, reliance on the opinions of experts is crucial regarding matters of science (both regarding feasibility and advisability), and one would have to assume that in drafting its Scoping Plan, the state of California did just that.
  3. As the article indicates, California’s Scoping Plan will create four million jobs and save Californians some $200 billion in health costs for pollution-related illnesses by 2045. Comment on these “positive externalities.” Does it surprise you that “green energy” initiatives can be good for the economy? Explain your response.

    A positive externality is a benefit enjoyed by a third party because of a transaction between two other parties. In this case, the third party would be the average Californian, and the two other parties would be the state government of California and renewable energy providers. In your author’s opinion, it is both surprising and satisfying to know that green energy initiatives can be good for the economy in terms of job creation and reduced health care costs (As if saving the state, the country, and the planet is not enough!)