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A group of California Democrats who voted to update the state’s cap-and-invest climate program last year are now urging regulators to go back to the drawing board on a key part of the policy — warning it could further destabilize the state’s energy market and drive prices even higher.
Fifteen Democratic Assembly members sent a letter Monday to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) asking the agency to reconsider proposed amendments to the state’s cap-and-invest program covering fuels, gas and electricity. California’s cap-and-invest program works by placing a limit, or “cap,” on greenhouse gas emissions and forces major polluters to buy allowances for greenhouse gas emissions.
Notably, the lawmakers raising concerns previously voted to approve the legislation in September that re-authorized the cap-and-invest program, which directed regulators to update the rules — the very process CARB is now carrying out.
The proposal, set to be voted on in May, could drive already sky-high gas prices up by more than $1 per gallon by 2030, according to estimates cited by Chevron. “These changes pose serious risks to California’s cost of living, job security and reliable energy resources,” the giant energy company warned Monday.
But in the letter to CARB chair Lauren Sanchez, the Democrats who voted to approve it now warn the proposed changes could strain California’s energy system.
“An energy transition that outpaces infrastructure readiness, market realities, and technological feasibility risks creating chronic supply imbalances and long-term market instability,” the lawmakers wrote to CARB chair Lauren Sanchez.
The lawmakers warned regulators that the state’s energy costs are already crushing families. “This crisis is not a fallacy nor a thinly veiled threat,” the group wrote. “It is a reality borne by consumers today who are historically and empirically least able to afford it.”
They added that while California prides itself on being a national leader on climate change, policies shouldn’t come at the expense of working families.
“California’s climate leadership cannot come at the cost of destabilizing our energy markets and burdening those least able to bear it,” the lawmakers said.
Oil companies also warn that stricter climate rules could make the situation worse by pushing more refineries out of state.
The letter was signed by Assemblymembers Blanca Rubio, Michelle Rodriguez, Jose Luis Solache, Stephanie Nguyen, Lisa Calderon, Juan Carrillo, James Ramos, Lori Wilson, Blanca Pacheco, Maggy Krell, Esmeralda Soria, Tina McKinnon, Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Anamarie Avila Farias, and Mike Gipson.
The debate now sets up a major political clash in Sacramento as regulators prepare to finalize the updated cap-and-invest rules later this year. If they move forward, it looks like the “California premium” may get a whole lot more expensive.
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