Pathways to Carbon Neutrality in California
California leads the nation and much of the world in policies to mitigate climate change with a long-term target of net zero emissions by 2045. New Executive Orders ban the sale of new gas-powered cars and trucks by 2035 and establish a goal of protecting 30% of California’s lands and waters by 2030.
The goal of this project is to “inform the discussion” on pathways to Carbon Neutrality in California through an assessment of energy system options that encompass a broad range of technologies, including CCS, natural gas sourced H2, negative emissions, and other technologies and technology transformations.
Integrated Economy-Wide Modeling
The goal of this study was to provide an independent assessment of decarbonization options and alternatives and build a fully integrated economy-wide energy model for California.
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Key Findings
Additional files and supporting resources
Peer reviewed publications and conference proceedings
Neutel, J., Berson, A. ., Saltzer, S., Orr, F., Brandt, A. ., & Benson, S. (2024). What will it take to get to Net-Zero Emissions in California?. Society of Petroleum Engineers.PDF DOI
Hennessy, E. M., Singh, M., Saltzer, S., and Azevedo, I., M.L. (2024). Pathways to zero emissions in California's heavy-duty transportation sector. Environ. Res.: Infrastruct. Sustain. 4 035001. PDF DOI
Sectoral and Fuel Switching Analyses
These reports contain an in depth analysis of two fuel switching opportunities, the forest management opportunity, and five sectoral analyses of decarbonization opportunities for California.
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Interview and Workshop Summary Report
This report summarizes insights from a series of interviews conducted in the spring of 2021 as well as a workshop conducted in June 2021. This report does not represent the views of Stanford University or the project sponsors. The intent of the Stanford project team was to obtain perspectives from across a wide range of organizations in government, the private sector, and academia.
The interview and workshop summary report contains a lengthy rich summary and discussion of the project findings. The following 6 briefs are intended to provide additional insights into themes that emerged during the interview and workshop process.
Workshops
