THE NET-ZERO BLOG
Climate policy analysis and updates from Sacramento
Near-term policy opportunities for carbon removal in California
In this blog, we identify near-term, low-cost and viable policy opportunities that would remove key barriers to carbon capture, removal and storage while not crowding-out other important state priorities, such as energy affordability. These policies include: (i) regulatory reforms, such as establishing a clear permitting framework and removing the moratorium on CO2 pipelines, amongst others; (ii) market signals, including establishing that carbon capture is an eligible emissions reduction action under Cap-and-Trade as well as guidance for biomass pathways under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard; and (iii) direct funding, including allocating a portion of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund revenues for direct procurement as well as continuing to pursue potential, albeit uncertain, federal opportunities. We conclude by briefly summarizing a ‘business models’ approach to carbon infrastructure for stakeholder consideration.
Addressing California's wood waste crisis
California is facing an unprecedented crisis whereby millions of tons of wood waste from wildfire prevention efforts are being piled and burned or left to decay in forests, increasing the state’s emissions and undermining broader forest resilience goals. Despite some progress towards establishing a circular economy to collect and process the residues into low-carbon products, these efforts have not kept pace with the scale of the problem. In this blog we examine the potential for California to deploy a portfolio of next-generation biomass technologies, including wood products such as mass timber, clean fuels such as hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel, and carbon dioxide removal.
California’s carbon removal opportunity
SB 308 (Becker) would establish a world-first framework to deliver carbon dioxide removal at scale. In this blog post we highlight the key elements of the bill, how it could facilitate hundreds of millions of dollars in new federal clean energy investments and enable the state’s climate goals.
Call to Action on a Direct Air Capture Hub in California
California has identified the deployment of carbon dioxide removal, including direct air capture and biomass carbon removal, as necessary to achieving the state’s climate goals. To support these newer technologies, the federal Department of Energy is awarding four grants of up to $700 million each to establish Regional Direct Air Capture Hubs across the U.S. Without deliberate action California risks missing out on this key opportunity to establish a foundation and attract major private investment in support of its carbon removal goals.
Direct Air Capture Hubs: California projects successful in receiving DOE grants
Earlier today, the Department of Energy announced the recipients sharing in $1.2 billion in Direct Air Capture (DAC) Hub funding made available via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In this blog post, we highlight the projects in California that were successful in receiving federal funding. We explore the state’s remaining challenge in attracting the remaining full-scale funding grants available.
The challenges of carbon capture and storage in California: Commercial frameworks
California has significant ambitions for carbon capture and storage, with a goal for this technology to make-up 25% of the state’s net-zero portfolio. However, there are currently no operating CCS projects in California. In a previous post, we highlighted how an immature regulatory framework is a key reason for this and identified opportunities to address this barrier. Here we examine a second key barrier, which is the lack of a commercial framework to attract the substantial and diverse CCS investments required to help fully decarbonize California’s economy in only 22-years.