California has accelerated its pace of reducing emissions in recent years, putting the state’s aggressive climate goals within grasping distance, according to a new report.Still, report authors warned that some of the biggest gains are in sectors that are vulnerable to backsliding under the incoming Donald Trump administration. They also said California will have to accelerate the pace even further to reach the goal of cutting planet-warming emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030.The annual report, published Thursday by nonprofit Next 10, found that total emissions fell by 2.4% from 2021 to 2022, which is the most recent year of data assessed.“California’s progress in cutting emissions is accelerating,” Next 10 founder F. Noel Perry said. “We’re seeing real-time proof that the state’s climate policies are working.”In recent years, state emissions were at their lowest in 2020, when much of California came to a standstill amid COVID-19 restrictions. While 2022 numbers did not reach that low, they moved close to it and were just 0.8% higher than they were in 2020.Keep Reading
