California’s carbon-pricing program generated $36.2B for climate initiatives: report — SkimNews
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- California's Cap-and-Invest program generated $36.2 billion for climate investments since its 2013 launch, according to a new California Air Resources Board report submitted to the state legislature.
- CARB reported that $15.5 billion of that total has already been deployed across 122 programs supporting more than 600,000 projects focused on clean air, energy efficiency, affordability, and emissions reductions.
- The program is credited with driving 130.5 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent emission reductions and delivering $44.4 billion in cost savings from lower fuel consumption, reduced transit expenses, and decreased household energy bills.
- Seventy-six percent of deployed funding specifically targets disadvantaged and low-income communities and households, the report states.
- The program covers roughly 80% of California's emissions and applies to facilities emitting 25,000 or more metric tons of CO2-equivalent annually; it was revised earlier this year to help meet the state's target of a 40% emissions reduction by 2030 versus 1990 levels.
- CARB Chair Lauren Sanchez called Cap-and-Invest an "important funding source" that has directed billions "into communities that suffer most from environmental harm," per a July 20 press release.
Why it matters: Over 12 years, California's Cap-and-Invest program has channeled $36.2 billion into climate initiatives while cutting 130.5 million metric tons of emissions — and with 76% of deployed funds targeted at disadvantaged communities, the program is positioned as a model for state-level carbon pricing that pairs emissions cuts with direct equity spending. The revised framework's next test is whether it can hit the 40%-by-2030 target.
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