California Cannot Meet Its 2050 Carbon Dioxide Emissions Goals

For years, politicians in California have prided themselves as being on the forefront of regulation of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases. In 2006, California passed the immodestly titled “Global Warming Solutions Act” to reduce California’s carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent by 2020.[i] California has implemented a state-wide cap-and-trade system for carbon dioxide, they pressed the federal government to dramatically increase fuel economy standards for cars, they are trying to implement a “low carbon fuel standard” for gasoline and diesel, they subsidize renewable generation, and they have increased their renewable electricity mandate to 33 percent by 2020.

To evaluate their progress reducing greenhouse gases, California asked the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) to assess whether its existing policies and technologies would enable it to meet its greenhouse gas emissions goal of an 80 percent reduction from 1990 levels by 2050. The answer was: Not even close! Even under the most ambitious policies, which would be highly unrealistic, the state would still fall far short of its greenhouse gas emissions goal in 2050, although it does meet its 2020 goal.

The Lab report found that if all of California’s policies were implemented such as cap-and-trade, low carbon fuel and renewable electricity standards, zero-emissions-vehicle mandate, the state’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2050 would be virtually unchanged from today.[ii] And if more aggressive measures were adopted, greenhouse gas emissions would still exceed the state’s target by a huge amount, which indicates that the many billions that California spends annually on electric car and rooftop solar subsidies, energy efficiency upgrades and alternative fuel development is all for naught.

READ MORE:  http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/2013/11/19/california-cannot-meet-its-2050-carbon-dioxide-emissions-goals/