cancel2 2022
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A research paper, published in the journal Environmental Pollution, finds that California’s wildfires in 2020 caused twice the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that the state reduced between 2003 and 2019. In other words, 2020’s wildfire season, which set a record for the number of acres burned in the state, essentially wiped out 18 years of California’s efforts to reduce emissions through such policies as replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy and providing incentives for electric vehicles. California regularly is responsible for around 50 percent of all electric vehicles sold in the United States. More than 9,000 wildfires hit California in 2020, sending smoke all the way to the East Coast and burning more than 4.3 million acres and damaging 11,116 structures. Since wood contains stored carbon, carbon dioxide — the most prevalent greenhouse gas —is emitted when the wood oxidizes (burns). The burning wood from the wildfires accounted for almost 30 percent of California’s total emissions, making wildfires the second-largest source of emissions in the state, after transportation.
According to the study by UCLA and the University of Chicago, wildfire emissions in 2020 were 127 million metric tons of carbon dioxide — second only to transportation (166 million metric tons) and well above industry (88 million metric tons) and power
generation (59 million metric tons). From 2003 to 2019, California’s greenhouse gas emissions declined by 65 million metric tons, a 13 percent reduction that was largely driven by reductions from the electric power sector. California has been very aggressive in the transition to intermittent renewable energy with backup from dispatchable forms of energy, including carbon-based fuels. To calculate the wildfire emissions, the researchers used data from two satellites and California Air Resources Board (CARB) data for the state’s emissions cuts. CARB is currently considering a 2022 draft plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, also referred to as “net-zero.
In addition, 2020 greenhouse gas emissions from wildfires represent nearly half of the state’s 2030 reduction target of 260 MMT of CO2 emissions, according to the study. The data suggested that future wildfire seasons akin to 2020 would completely zero out any reductions created by government policies and the tens of billions consumers and taxpayers are spending to implement them. Emissions from California’s wildfires in 2020 caused $7.1 billion in global monetized damages.
California sees itself as the nation’s leader in climate policy, launching a series of programs and regulations to cut emissions, which includes requirements that the electrical sector use only carbon-free energy by 2045 and car makers sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2035. The state also runs a carbon cap-and-trade market that forces large businesses to cut emissions or buy environmental permits for their pollution. In September, Governor Newsom signed legislation as part of his “California Climate Commitment” program that would invest $54 billion into climate initiatives, reduce emissions by 60 percent, nearly eliminate the state’s oil consumption and reduce refinery pollution 94 percent through stricter standards over the next two decades. The California Air Resources Board does not account for the smoke pollution from wildfires.
https://www.instituteforenergyresea...house-gas-reduction-initiatives-for-18-years/
A research paper, published in the journal Environmental Pollution, finds that California’s wildfires in 2020 caused twice the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that the state reduced between 2003 and 2019. In other words, 2020’s wildfire season, which set a record for the number of acres burned in the state, essentially wiped out 18 years of California’s efforts to reduce emissions through such policies as replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy and providing incentives for electric vehicles. California regularly is responsible for around 50 percent of all electric vehicles sold in the United States. More than 9,000 wildfires hit California in 2020, sending smoke all the way to the East Coast and burning more than 4.3 million acres and damaging 11,116 structures. Since wood contains stored carbon, carbon dioxide — the most prevalent greenhouse gas —is emitted when the wood oxidizes (burns). The burning wood from the wildfires accounted for almost 30 percent of California’s total emissions, making wildfires the second-largest source of emissions in the state, after transportation.
According to the study by UCLA and the University of Chicago, wildfire emissions in 2020 were 127 million metric tons of carbon dioxide — second only to transportation (166 million metric tons) and well above industry (88 million metric tons) and power
generation (59 million metric tons). From 2003 to 2019, California’s greenhouse gas emissions declined by 65 million metric tons, a 13 percent reduction that was largely driven by reductions from the electric power sector. California has been very aggressive in the transition to intermittent renewable energy with backup from dispatchable forms of energy, including carbon-based fuels. To calculate the wildfire emissions, the researchers used data from two satellites and California Air Resources Board (CARB) data for the state’s emissions cuts. CARB is currently considering a 2022 draft plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, also referred to as “net-zero.
In addition, 2020 greenhouse gas emissions from wildfires represent nearly half of the state’s 2030 reduction target of 260 MMT of CO2 emissions, according to the study. The data suggested that future wildfire seasons akin to 2020 would completely zero out any reductions created by government policies and the tens of billions consumers and taxpayers are spending to implement them. Emissions from California’s wildfires in 2020 caused $7.1 billion in global monetized damages.
California sees itself as the nation’s leader in climate policy, launching a series of programs and regulations to cut emissions, which includes requirements that the electrical sector use only carbon-free energy by 2045 and car makers sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2035. The state also runs a carbon cap-and-trade market that forces large businesses to cut emissions or buy environmental permits for their pollution. In September, Governor Newsom signed legislation as part of his “California Climate Commitment” program that would invest $54 billion into climate initiatives, reduce emissions by 60 percent, nearly eliminate the state’s oil consumption and reduce refinery pollution 94 percent through stricter standards over the next two decades. The California Air Resources Board does not account for the smoke pollution from wildfires.
https://www.instituteforenergyresea...house-gas-reduction-initiatives-for-18-years/
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