California is spewing less climate pollution but trails emissions targets

A dip in transportation pollution helped California reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 2.4 percent from 2021 to 2022, according to research published Thursday.

But the state must do more if it wants to meet its goal of cutting climate-warming emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by the end of the decade. California so far has cut its emissions 13.8 percent below the baseline level, according to the Green Innovation Index, which is produced by CEC Economics and the Next 10 think tank.

California’s emissions fell to the equivalent of 371.1 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2022, led in part by a 3.2 percent decrease in transportation pollution, the research noted.