Policy Recommendations to Reach California’s Next Major Decarbonization Milestone based on a New Open Source Model

California is working toward the 2030 target set in Senate Bill 32, requiring a statewide reduction in emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels. The state’s existing climate strategy puts the burden on the cap-and-trade program to make up the difference, but the economic model used is ill-suited to analysis of cap-and-trade design. The California Energy Policy Simulator (EPS), a new open source model, helps fill the resulting analytical void with unsurpassed visibility into the combined effects of carbon pricing and sector policies. Dr. Chris Busch, Research Director at Energy Innovation, will use the model to identify six policy recommendations that hit the target while also generating an estimated $7 billion in net economic benefits plus an additional $14 billion in health and climate benefits. Location: Middlebury Institute of International Studies, McGowan Building, Room 100, 411 Pacific Street, Monterey, CA 93940. Free, Open to the Public. No registration requested. Website for more info: go.miis.edu/sustainability. For Questions, contact Rachel Christopherson at the Center for the Blue Economy at [email protected] or (831) 647-4183.