California Plans to Waste $27 Billion Bankrolling a Polluters’ Paradise

A statement by Earthjustice criticizing the California Air Resources Board's proposed updates to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), arguing that the program currently favors polluting biofuels over zero-emissions transportation.

• Earthjustice calculates that the California Air Resources Board's proposed revisions to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard could result in up to $27 billion being spent on polluting biofuels between 2025 and 2035.
• The Low Carbon Fuel Standard is described as an outdated program from the era of Governor Schwarzenegger that currently allows combustion fuels, including some fossil fuels presented as clean, to dominate the system through greenwashing and emissions reductions claimed far from California.
• Environmental and environmental justice groups have proposed specific reforms to the LCFS to prioritize zero-emissions transportation, including capping biofuel subsidies (specifically those from corn and soy) at 2022 levels and phasing out subsidies for polluting industrial dairies during the 2030s.
• Scientific experts have raised alarms regarding the program's proposed shape. Dr. Michael Wara's team at Stanford questioned the greenhouse gas emissions reductions claimed in the staff's proposal (ISOR), while eight other scientists urged the California Air Resources Board to immediately cap vegetable oil-based biofuels to prevent widespread harm.
• Research from Dr. Colin Murphy of UC Davis suggests that the proposed LCFS amendments are unlikely to stabilize the credit market or support higher credit prices, and warns that the Automatic Acceleration Mechanism (AAM) could increase costs for gasoline consumers in the late 2020s due to renewable diesel capacity trends.

APA

Martinez, A. (2024). California Plans to Waste $27 Billion Bankrolling a Polluters’ Paradise. Earthjustice. https://earthjustice.org/experts/adrian-martinez/california-plans-to-waste-27-billion-bankrolling-a-polluters-paradise

Chicago

Martinez, Adrian. California Plans to Waste $27 Billion Bankrolling a Polluters’ Paradise. Earthjustice, 2024. https://earthjustice.org/experts/adrian-martinez/california-plans-to-waste-27-billion-bankrolling-a-polluters-paradise.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Martinez |first1=Adrian |title=California Plans to Waste $27 Billion Bankrolling a Polluters’ Paradise |publisher=Earthjustice |date=12 March 2024 |url=https://earthjustice.org/experts/adrian-martinez/california-plans-to-waste-27-billion-bankrolling-a-polluters-paradise |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{martinez2024california, author = {Martinez, Adrian}, title = {{California Plans to Waste \$27 Billion Bankrolling a Polluters’ Paradise}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2024}, month = mar, url = {https://earthjustice.org/experts/adrian-martinez/california-plans-to-waste-27-billion-bankrolling-a-polluters-paradise}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }