CARB Holds Public Consultation on How to Expend GHG Auction Revenues

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On May 24, CARB held a "public consultation" to elicit, from industry and the public, ideas on how best to spend auction revenues. A "public consultation" should not be confused with a workshop and is not considered part of the record for CARB.

The consultation was comprised of two panels made up of a mixture of California public agencies, air district regulators as well as academics, public advocates, environmental associations and industry representatives. The first panel offered suggestions as to how California should invest the auction funds. While all mentioned that the funds should be used to meet the goals of AB 32, many were quick to include support of long-term, transformative efforts to improve public health and develop a clean-energy economy encompassing a variety of program investments. Common themes included the need to fund research, development and deployment of new technologies, clean energy finance and investment, and energy efficiencies. Environmental representatives stressed the need for co-benefit reductions with local and regional programs related to other criteria pollutants and air toxins and advocated strongly for investment in communities with environmental justice concerns and green jobs.

The second panel was supposed to discuss what criteria should be prioritized in the development of an investment plan, but except for one or two industry representatives, also added their programs to the wish list for the money.

CLFP stood with industry during the public comment period, pointing out that it was premature to discuss how the auction funds should be spent, given so many legal uncertainties still surrounded the cap-and-trade and CARB’s authority to hold an auction.

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