In 2006, California set itself an ambitious environmental goal: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The Air Resources Board recently published its assessment of 2016 — and the state has already hit its 2020 target. California is on a low-carbon diet, so to speak, and the diet is working.
Emissions from California's power sector have dropped 35 percent, while emissions from transportation fell only slightly. California has aggressive targets for renewable energy in its power generation mix, and the state is blessed with sun, wind, and innovative companies willing and able to build what's needed to achieve a power mix that will eventually be more than half zero-emissions.
California achieved this milestone — a 13 percent reduction in emissions from their peak in 2004 — while growing its economy by 26 percent.
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