New analysis reveals California isn’t on track to meet its 2030 climate change mandates

California will fail to meet its ambitious mandates for combating climate change unless the state almost triples its rate of reducing greenhouse gases through 2030, according to a new analysis released today.

After dropping during the pandemic, California’s emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other climate-warming gases increased 3.4 percent in 2021, when the economy rebounded. The increase puts California further away from reaching its target mandated under state law: emitting 40 percent less in 2030 than in 1990 — a feat that will become more expensive and more difficult as time passes, the report’s authors told CalMatters.