The California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted goals to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and other greenhouse gases from cars and light trucks in 18 urban areas around the state. While the goals are nonbinding, local jurisdictions will need to demonstrate a likelihood of success in order to take advantage of other incentives, such as streamlined permitting for development projects.
The emissions-reduction goals cover the years 2020 to 2035. Many of the urban areas encompass towns, cities and counties in the state’s four largest regions, namely Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Sacramento. For these areas, CARB’s goals are to reduce CO2 emissions by 7% to 8% by 2020 and 13% to 16% by 2035. CARB set provisional goals of 5% for 2020 and 10% for 2035 for the San Joaquin Valley's eight planning areas.
For other urban areas, the targets vary widely, from zero to 6%. For more information, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.