THE NET-ZERO BLOG
Climate policy analysis and updates from Sacramento
Reflections on the inaugural California Biomass Workshop
Last week Conservation Strategy Group and the UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment and Economy co-hosted the inaugural California Biomass Workshop to address the key challenges and opportunities in delivering a sustainable bioeconomy to California. Over 200 attendees met in Sacramento for a deep dive on an issue that is critical to reaching our Scoping Plan goals while protecting California's natural and working lands. In this blog post we summarize the main takeaways from the day.
Inaugural California Biomass Workshop a key opportunity for progress
Workshop Announcement: Conservation Strategy Group and UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment and the Economy are co-hosting the California Biomass Workshop on January 31st, 2024 at the Citizen Hotel in Sacramento. The purpose of the workshop is to bring together a diversity of stakeholders from around the state to coordinate and advance solutions to address a major resource management challenge - the wood waste crisis.
How clean hydrogen can enable California’s climate goals
Hydrogen is sometimes referred to as the Swiss Army Knife of climate solutions due to its potential to replace fossil fuels in multiple sectors. However, not all hydrogen is created equal – with certain production methods better for the climate than others. Prioritizing end-uses for hydrogen based upon regional characteristics can also ensure that project investments are as optimal as possible. This blog post examines California’s opportunity to produce and consume clean hydrogen.
Recommendations to solve California's biomass challenge
With its world-leading policies on electrification and clean power, California has made important progress towards achieving its climate goals. However, not all emissions are from the energy and industrial sectors. Land-based emissions, including from burning or decaying biomass, must also be addressed to achieve a carbon neutrality goal. In this blog post, we identify potential priority approaches for biomass utilization, including for durable wood products, advanced biofuels and biomass electricity, that can help California meet its climate goals.
State and federal agencies release first-of-its-kind biomass utilization strategy
Biomass management has been a neglected climate problem in California. That is, until recently – when the 2022 Scoping Plan identified both the significant scale of the biomass challenge and importance of mobilizing organic waste to provide clean fuels and carbon dioxide removal in a net-zero economy. In this blog post we briefly recap California’s biomass challenge before summarizing the top-five recommendations from the state’s newest draft wood utilization strategy from the Governor’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force.
How California can lead the world in decarbonizing aviation
As the United States seeks to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonize will be aviation. Aviation makes up nearly 7% of the total U.S. transportation sector emissions. As planes are expected to remain reliant on liquid fuels for the foreseeable future, commercializing non-fossil, low-carbon alternatives is a critical need. In this blog post, we explore opportunities and recommendations for California to lead on sustainable aviation fuel development.