The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) has released an analysis of the Administration’s report on spending from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund through 2015, which is the fund that collects revenues from the Assembly Bill 32 Cap-and-Trade program. While the Administration reports reducing more than 14 million metric tons of greenhouse gases (GHG) with the programs funded to date, the LAO analysis asserts that the cost of those reductions is relatively high, averaging $57 in revenue to reduce each ton of GHG. The analysis also notes that the cost per ton is more than $100 for more than half of the programs, with the most costly including energy efficiency and transportation programs.
The LAO did note that forest health and waste diversion projects are among the cheapest programs to fund, costing around $4 per ton of GHG reduction. RCRC has strongly advocated for spending GGRF funds on waste diversion and forest health programs since the funds were first made available for appropriation in the 2014-15 fiscal year, particularly in light of the strict waste diversion goals set by the state and the dire need for better management of the state’s forested lands to prevent high severity wildfires and address the urgent tree mortality situation.
The LAO analysis was also a major topic during Wednesday’s Assembly Budget Subcommittee 3 on Resources and Transportation, which heard a number of GGRF budget allocation proposals for various state agencies, including CAL FIRE and CalRecycle. Subcommittee members, including Assembly Member Das Williams and Assembly Member Rich Gordon, expressed support for funding programs that are not only low cost, but also may not need funding in perpetuity such as infrastructure for waste diversion. While the items were held open, subcommittee members were generally receptive to the Governor’s proposed allocations to both CalRecycle and CAL FIRE because of the LAO cost analysis.
The LAO analysis can be accessed here.