California cuts climate emissions again in 2024 as economy keeps growing

What you need to know: Two decades after AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, was signed, California's climate programs continued to deliver measurable progress and economic benefits. Statewide emissions fell another 3.9% in 2024 extending a 20-year downward trend. Overall emissions are 28% below their 2004 peak even as California's economy has nearly doubled.

SACRAMENTO - New data released today by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) shows that the state continued its long-term decline in greenhouse gas emissions, even as the economy continues to expand.

CARB's latest inventory reports a 3.9% drop in statewide emissions in 2024 - equivalent to removing more than 3.2 million gasoline-powered cars from California's roads for one year.  The reductions came as California's gross state product increased by 3.2%.

"California is once again proving that economic growth and environmental protection go hand in hand." said CARB Chair Lauren Sanchez. "Twenty years ago, we bet that tackling climate change would make California stronger. The results speak for themselves - emissions falling, our economy growing, and our air getting cleaner."

The report reflects ongoing progress reducing emissions across sectors:

• Transportation achieved the largest total decrease driven by the rising use of renewable diesel and zero-emission vehicles.
• Despite an increase in total electricity generation, power sector emissions were down due to the continued expansion of renewables and batteries.
• Industrial, agricultural, and commercial and residential emissions also fell.

How we got here

Signed into law 20 years ago, AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, established California's climate leadership and the state's first greenhouse gas reduction goal - get back to 1990 levels by 2020. The target was met six years early in 2014.

The law spurred the development of California's groundbreaking Cap-and-Invest Program, the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, Advanced Clean Car Programs and more.

Since then, the California legislature passed new laws further cementing the state's climate commitment:

• 2016: Governor Brown signed SB 32 requiring the state to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by December 31, 2030.
• 2022: Governor Newsom signed AB 1279 codifying the goal to achieve statewide carbon neutrality by 2045 and establishing an 85% emissions reduction target as part of that goal.

A record of success

Today, California's success has become a blueprint for governments around the world and every Californian can take pride in the state's accomplishments:

• 28% drop in emissions since 2004
• 2.7 million zero-emission vehicles sold
• 216,445 public and shared EV chargers
• 67% clean energy
• 21,860 MW of battery storage
• 70% renewable diesel sales
• $36 billion raised by Cap-and-Invest auctions for California Climate Investments statewide
• #1 in the nation for clean energy jobs with 552,300 employed

Why it matters

The science behind climate change is irrefutable. California has tracked its impacts for more than two decades finding rapidly accelerating effects on the state.

With the increasing severity and frequency of drought, wildfire, extreme heat, and other impacts, Californians only have to look out their windows to know that climate change is real and rapidly worsening.

The impacts once thought decades away are happening now. The Indicators of Climate Change in California Report and other recent research detail some of the impacts:

• During an 11-year period, exposure to climate-driven wildfire smoke caused more than 50,000 deaths in California and more than $400 billion in economic impacts.   
• During seven extreme heat events over the past decade, California experienced $7.7 billion in losses.   
• Fueled by record drought conditions linked to climate change, the January 2025 southern California wildfires caused widespread loss of life and property. The economic impacts from these fires alone is estimated to be more than $30 billion.
• The average American born in 2024 is expected to face $500,000 in additional costs due to climate change in their lifetime, those who experience more severe climate impacts can expect to face a toll of up to $1 million.

California's plan to achieve carbon neutrality will help curb these impacts and deliver significant benefits:

• Reduce air pollution 71%
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85%
• Reduce petroleum demand 94%
• Create 4 million new jobs
• Save Californians $200 billion in avoided health costs