Study Shows CA Climate Plan Works

A controversial California effort to fight climate change just got some good news

Chelsea Harvey, August 21, 2017 (Washington Post)

“…[A] controversial California climate program is successfully reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions and providing other environmental benefits on the side…[According to a study from Stanford University, the] California “carbon offset” program, which allows companies to pay to preserve carbon-storing forests instead of reducing their own emissions…is protecting imperiled forests and preventing the carbon they store from being released into the atmosphere…The program is built into California’s existing cap-and-trade system…[and] establishes a market for the buying and selling emissions permits, creating a financial incentive for companies to reduce their own emissions and sell the extra savings…[C]ompanies may also buy offsets from forest managers all over the country, guaranteeing that they’ll preserve their trees…By buying these offsets, companies can adhere to California’s emissions-cutting policies without reducing their own carbon output directly…Overall, about 25.5 million tons of carbon have been credited as part of the forest offset program [conserving forests, wild plants, and animals] that might otherwise have been destroyed…” click here for more

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