California’s economy grew robustly during the past decade even as state-imposed environmental standards to combat climate-change helped lower greenhouse gas emissions. But authors of a report released Tuesday cautioned that the future might not be so rosy: They found that transportation-related emissions have begun to rise due in part to longer commute times for California workers who can’t afford to live in the cities where they work.
The report cautioned that the affordable housing issue must be addressed by policymakers for the state to meet its ambitious longer term emissions goals.
Since 2006, when former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the state’s landmark climate-change bill, greenhouse gas emissions have dropped by 12 percent per capita and the state’s gross domestic product has grown by about $5,000 per person — double the national average, according to the California Green Innovation Index released by Beacon Economics and Next 10, an organization founded by venture capitalist F. Noel Perry. This year’s green innovation index is the ninth from the organization.
However, a strong economy and high employment combined with a lack of affordable housing near to the places where people work could have been the reason for an increase in transportation-related emissions from 2014 to 2015, Perry said. Emissions from transportation alone rose 2.7 percent statewide during that period, the study found
View Article