The transportation sector is California’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Even with its world-leading ZEV mandates, state regulators estimate that 30% of light-duty vehicles that remain on the road in 2045 will burn fossil fuels. Reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) through strategic land-use decisions is key to address these emissions. This would also create spillover effects that reduce energy demand in other sectors, alleviating some of the pressure of needing to build gigawatts of new clean energy.

Although there are a number of obstacles to reducing VMT, by far the most significant is the lack of incentives for local governments (with land-use authority) to implement VMT-reducing land-use strategies. This is a key reason behind why, despite there being comprehensive regional VMT plans (called Sustainable Communities Strategies), they have at this stage failed to be implemented.

We are advancing two key policies to break what has been a long-standing deadlock on this key climate issue. Our near-term focus is on creating new incentives for NGOs and local governments to acquire and conserve natural and working lands on urban limit lines at risk of development. Our long-term focus is on strengthening greenhouse gas mitigation requirements under CEQA, which could generate significant new revenue streams to implement the same and similar progressive land-use policies.

For more information, contact Neil Matouka (neil@csgcalifornia.com) or Sam Uden (sam@csgcalifornia.com).