The California Air Resources Board is voting on November 8 on whether or not to adopt more stringent requirements for its Low Carbon Fuel Standard program, by which the state uses a system of credits and deficits to reward or punish producers that make fuel better or worse than the rising “clean” standard.” While the current LCFS guidelines aim for a 20% reduction in carbon intensity by 2030 compared to 2010, the proposed amendments would aim for a 90% reduction by 2045, thereby necessitating much steeper cuts.
If this regulation is passed by CARB, all but two of whose 14 voting members are appointed by the governor, a 15 gallon fill-up of gas would cost an extra $5.25 next year, while a round-trip ticket between New York and Los Angeles could see prices go up by $35.20 (assuming a 250 person jetliner burns 10,000 gallons of fuel each way between the two cities).
Because diesel is used for delivering and transporting goods across the country, and 40% of the nation’s imports come in through Los Angeles, California’s proposed LCFS amendments raising the cost of diesel would likely impact every American.