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Options to Reduce GHG Emmissions
To effectively respond to the growing threat of climate change, California will need to develop a comprehensive plan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While a broad range of potential emission reduction and carbon sequestration options should be considered, it will be necessary to weigh the relative costs and benefits of the available options to achieve the maximum benefit from public and private investment. To this end, it is a PIER priority to thoroughly characterize the costs and benefits of potential GHG reduction actions.
To date, much of the discussion of reducing GHG emissions has focused on increasing energy efficiency and reducing fossil fuel consumption. To consider a broader range of alternatives, this PIER research area has given particular attention to non-CO2 GHGs and other sectors of the economy. PIER supports the development of GHG cost curves—a useful tool in assessing the cost-effectiveness of various reduction options—to better understand the costs of abating non-CO2 gases.
PIER-funded research about reducing GHG emissions has been organized around the following question: how can California control GHG emissions and increase carbon sequestration? In general, this question has led to two primary short-term research projects such as the development of cost curves for abating non-CO2 gases or increasing carbon sequestration. Other work has helped develop new and better methods for identifying GHG reduction opportunities and increasing their effectiveness. Together, work from this area will better inform the state’s GHG reduction actions.