Pacific Southwest, Region 9
Serving: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Pacific Islands, Tribal Nations
Clean Energy & Climate Change
—
State Activities
California Emissions (CO2-EQ)
Greenhouse Gas Inventory 2006: 479.8 MMTCO2-Eq: 6.8 % of total U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Carbon Intensity: 506 mTCO2-Eq/GWh: 19% below national average for emissions per unit energy
Per capita carbon emissions: 13 mTCO2-Eq/person/year: 44% below national average per capita emissions
California
California is the fifteenth largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, producing 479.8 million metric mple of carbon dioxide equivalents (MMTCO2-Eq) according to the most recent 2005 inventory of emissions. Transportation accounts for a much larger portion of emissions than other states, with 38% of emissions coming from this sector. Although California clearly has significant emissions, in comparison the national average, it has significantly lower per capita energy consumption and has fewer emissions per unit energy. With a history of decades of investment in energy efficiency via utility efficiency programs, building standards, and appliance standards, California continues to play a leadership role in energy efficiency and emissions reduction and recently passed climate change legislation.
In 2006, the Legislature passed and Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which requires by law that California reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. It directed the California Air Resources Board 
to begin developing discrete early actions to reduce greenhouse gases while also preparing a scoping plan to identify how best to reach the 2020 limit. The reduction measures to meet the 2020 target are to be adopted by the start of 2011.
Reports and Resources
- Draft 2009 Climate Action Team Biennial Report to the Governor and Legislature (PDF) (122 pp, 3.44MB)
Report consolidates new compelling research on impacts of climate change on California. - California 2000 - 2008 Emissions
- Indicators of Climate Change in California, April 2009 (PDF) (197 pp, 6.3MB)
- California Climate Change Portal
- Energy Information Administration State Profiles
- California Decoupling Policy (PDF) (2pp, 260K)
The State of California is progressively moving forward to implement clean energy and climate change initiatives under AB 32. Several initiatives include the following:
- Net metering: Distributed renewables tie into the grid, providing cost benefits to renewables producing at peak times
- Feed-in-Tariffs: Utilities or end-users fund renewable electricity by paying for production at above-market rates
- Energy Building Codes
Agencies
| Region 9 NewsroomRegion 9 Programs | Grants & FundingUS-Mexico Border | Media CenterCareers | About Region 9A-Z Index |