Challenge
- From 2019 to 2030, the state would need to reduce GHG emissions by 4.3 percent each year in order to meet the SB 32 goal by 2030, compared to last year’s 4.1 percent reduction needed from 2018 to 2030. At the current trajectory, the state will take significantly more time to reach its SB 32 and 2050 goals than it did to reach the 2020 goal and, according to analysis from utility SoCal Edison, may need to quadruple its annual rate of reduction to reach climate goals.3 However, the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdowns and the shift to work from home arrangements for a large percentage of workforce could greatly reduce GHG emissions from the transportation sector in 2020.4 National level data also suggests that GHG emissions in 2021 may be higher than those in 2020.5 Whether these emission reductions remain permanent post-pandemic is not yet known.
3 Mind the Gap: Policies for California’s Countdown to 2030. Source: https://www.edison.com/home/our-perspective/mind-the-gap.html
4 U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions declined by 11 percent in 2020, with the transportation sector recording the largest percentage drop (-15%). Source: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=47496
5 The Energy Information Administration expects energy-related CO2 emissions to increase in 2021 and 2022. Source: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=46537
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