(Reuters) – California regulators voted on Friday to strengthen a policy aimed at boosting low-carbon fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector and meet climate change goals, despite criticism that it would raise gas prices.
The 14-member California Air Resources Board voted 12 to 2 to approve changes to the state’s influential Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). The vote followed nearly eight hours of testimony from supporters and opponents of the plan, as well as a lengthy debate among board members.
Several members said the changes are critical to maintaining Democrat-led climate leadership in California following Donald Trump’s victory. Trump, a Republican, has pledged to revoke California’s ability to set its own emissions laws, as he did in his first term as US president.
“The world is looking to California to see if we will maintain leadership or break under the internal pressure of perfectionism,” state Senator Henry said. It is strong (AS:), non-voting board member, in a statement read at the meeting by board member Hector De La Torre.
“California has a long history of developing visionary and affordable climate policies that are durable enough to withstand major shifts in national politics like we’ve just seen.”
Amendments to the LCFS, which have been in place since 2011, would require deep reductions in the carbon intensity of transportation fuels by 2030 in order for fuel producers to receive marketable credits for the program.
Transportation accounts for nearly 50% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.
While biofuel producers and other climate advocates support the changes, critics including oil companies and consumer advocates say the change will increase the cost of gasoline for Californians. Environmental groups also say the policy will increase oil and gas production and prioritize biofuels and large-scale dairy operations instead of encouraging a switch to electric vehicles.
The LCFS requires fuel makers to buy credits if their products produce more carbon emissions than a baseline set by regulators at the Air Resources Board. Refiners that produce low-carbon fuels and gases can generate credits to sell.
This policy has fueled the growth of renewable diesel and biogas production in recent years that has reduced credit prices to around $70 from over $200 in 2020. The policy review is aimed at increasing credit rates and promoting low-carbon fuel production.
As a result of the board’s vote, the LCFS will require a 30% reduction in the carbon intensity of transportation fuels by 2030, from 20%. These revisions will add to the goal of reducing carbon intensity by 90% by 2045.
Developers of projects that produce renewable fuels from organic waste support the measures.
Opponents have expressed concern, however, about rising fuel prices.
In an analysis released last year, the board said the changes could increase the price of gasoline by 37 cents a liter, on average, from 2024 to 2030. But the board has since said the models cannot accurately predict future fuel prices.
The board’s internal advisory committee on environmental justice had called for the revisions to be scrapped, citing exemptions for jet fuel manufacturers and large subsidies for dairy methane projects, among other concerns.
