California has long recognized the environmental risks associated with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other pollutants. The state’s efforts to address these issues date back to the 1940s when smog in the Los Angeles Basin became a significant health concern. Over the decades, California has implemented various policies to mitigate pollution, with a particular focus on reducing emissions from the transportation sector. Today, transportation remains the highest-emitting sector in California, contributing 37.7% of all GHG emissions in 2022, surpassing the industrial sector.
California’s Legislative Efforts
California’s legislative efforts to address environmental risks have been extensive. Key laws and executive actions include the Mulford-Carrell Air Resources Act of 1967, which created the California Air Resources Board (CARB), and the California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32) of 2006, which aimed to reduce GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. More recently, laws like SB 375 (2008) and SB 743 (2013) have focused on reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and promoting less sprawling land use. These laws are part of a broader strategy to connect mitigation efforts with resilience, aiming to lower VMT and counteract the negative effects of automobile-centric development.
Despite these efforts, California’s transportation sector is still a significant barrier to achieving overall emissions reduction goals. Most of the decline in transportation emissions comes from households switching to electric and hybrid vehicles, not from a reduction in driving. Californians are driving more, and neither residents nor businesses have stopped sprawling outward. Nearly half of all housing built since 1990 has been in the most wildfire-prone outskirts of metropolitan areas. This sprawling development pattern increases the risk of wildfires and exacerbates the state’s housing crisis, as building in lower VMT neighborhoods could help alleviate the housing shortage.
The Administrative Regime
The administrative regime established by these laws has placed a significant burden on local, regional, and state officials. SB 375, SB 743, and related laws have created a complex network of planning exercises, environmental permitting requirements, and legal exemptions. However, the state offers insufficient funding to deliver on its vision and lacks the authority to enforce all the goals proclaimed in the documents. This has led to a situation where the state’s ambitious climate goals are not being met, and the housing crisis persists.
California’s Transportation System
California’s transportation system creates significant environmental risks, and the state’s climate policies aim to address these issues through a combination of decarbonizing fuel and vehicles, reducing VMT, and promoting infill development. The adoption of hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) has shown progress, with EVs representing over 6% of all light-duty vehicles registered in the state in 2024. However, low-emission vehicles alone are not enough to meet the state’s climate and air quality goals. Fleet transition takes time, and EVs, while reducing engine-related emissions, can increase non-exhaust and particulate emissions due to their greater weight. Most critically, zero-emission vehicles still produce the same negative externalities as carbon-emitting vehicles, such as the conversion of greenfield land to sprawling development patterns.
Shifting Where Californians Live and Work
Shifting where Californians live and work is a more dependable approach to reaching the state’s climate goals than decarbonizing the vehicle fleet alone. Greater density of housing and commercial development reduces emissions by shortening distances between destinations. Conversely, when single-family homes as a share of all housing increase, on-road CO2 emissions per capita also increase. Sprawling land use increases carbon emissions by inducing longer trips, while density does the opposite. Closer-proximity land use is also instrumental in insulating California against the ever-expanding risks of climate change, particularly wildfires and drought.
California’s Legislative Efforts to Connect Transportation, Land Use, and Housing
California’s legislative efforts to connect transportation, land use, and housing to climate policy are clear. The CARB Scoping Plan sets goals for reducing per capita VMT and aligns land use, housing, transportation, and conservation planning. Key legislative actions include SB 375, which requires regions to produce a Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) to reach their GHG emissions reduction goals, and SB 743, which changed environmental reviews to focus on VMT instead of level-of-service. However, these laws have enforcement gaps and loopholes that allow VMT-inducing projects to proceed.
The State’s Efforts to Promote Lower Emissions and Resiliency
The state’s efforts to promote lower emissions and resiliency through transportation investment policies have been extensive. Executive orders and plans like the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI) aim to ensure that every state-built project supports climate goals. However, the state’s fiscal resources are not adequately aligned with these goals. The bulk of motor vehicle fees and taxes do not support climate-related initiatives, and the state’s funding for development is insufficient.
The Compliance Burden on Local and Regional Staff
The compliance burden placed on local and regional staff is significant. Localities are responsible for completing environmental reviews, running VMT calculations, and updating general plans, while regional staff must craft SCS and RHNA plans. The ever-shifting state rules and regulations, along with the threat of private legal action, make compliance challenging. The state offers no direct funds to comply with these rules, placing an enormous burden on even the highest-capacity cities and COGs.
A pesar de estos desafíos, todavía hay tiempo para que California logre cambios significativos en el comportamiento de viaje y los patrones de desarrollo. La reputación nacional del estado como innovador en el clima es merecida, y el progreso en otros sectores demuestra la efectividad de su robusto conjunto de leyes. La energía continua entre funcionarios estatales, regionales y locales para perseguir objetivos de transporte y uso de la tierra, junto con un recién anunciado grupo de trabajo que reevalúa los efectos y fracasos de SB 375, subraya el compromiso del estado de hacer esto correctamente.
Apoyo a este empuje continuo
Los informes futuros explorarán las estructuras, instituciones, procesos y resultados que definen el sistema de gobernanza climática de California. Considerarán el éxito y el fracaso del sistema, enfocándose en cómo ha creado efectos en cadena para regiones y localidades. Los informes examinarán intervenciones probadas para lograr los objetivos declarados de California y recomendarán cambios de política estructurales y dirigidos para hacer que el sistema sea funcional para los locales y suficiente para cumplir con los objetivos del estado.
