How California Can Seize Momentum to Advance Carbon Dioxide Removal

Despite the veto of SB 643, California can leverage SB 840 and the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to scale its carbon dioxide removal industry, ensuring it meets its 2030 and 2045 targets while preventing homegrown companies from relocating.

• California has established specific carbon dioxide removal (CDR) targets to neutralize hard-to-abate emissions, aiming for 7 million tons of carbon dioxide annually by 2030 and 75 million tons annually by 2045.
• Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed SB 643, which would have created a $100 million program (comprising $50 million in grants and matching private funds) for verifiable CDR projects, suggesting instead that such goals could be met using funds from SB 840.
• The author contends that public policy-driven demand is essential because the voluntary carbon market is insufficient for scaling CDR, noting that 80% of voluntary credits to date have been contracted by a single buyer, Microsoft.
• If California achieves its 2045 removal goal of 75 million tons annually, the CDR sector could become an $8 billion industry in the state, based on an estimated cost of $100 per ton of carbon dioxide.
• To advance CDR, the author recommends that the California budget explicitly allocate a portion of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) under SB 840 for CDR procurement and that the legislature consider multi-year appropriations in 2026.

APA

Nagabhushan, D. (2026). How California Can Seize Momentum to Advance Carbon Dioxide Removal. World Resources Institute. https://www.wri.org/insights/how-california-advance-carbon-dioxide-removal-legislation

Chicago

Nagabhushan, Deepika. How California Can Seize Momentum to Advance Carbon Dioxide Removal. World Resources Institute, 2026. https://www.wri.org/insights/how-california-advance-carbon-dioxide-removal-legislation.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Nagabhushan |first1=Deepika |title=How California Can Seize Momentum to Advance Carbon Dioxide Removal |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=8 January 2026 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/how-california-advance-carbon-dioxide-removal-legislation |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{nagabhushan2026how, author = {Nagabhushan, Deepika}, title = {{How California Can Seize Momentum to Advance Carbon Dioxide Removal}}, publisher = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2026}, month = jan, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/how-california-advance-carbon-dioxide-removal-legislation}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }