State Aquatic Resources Division – Pathway A

The State Aquatic Resources Division (ARD) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 1990 were nearly 3.5 million metric tons, roughly the equivalent of a 400 MW coal-fired powerplant or 700,000 passenger cars (EPA Greenhouse Gas Emissions Typical Passenger Vehicle). Typically, most of ARD’s emissions are associated with energy purchased to move water through the State Water Project (SWP), which ARD owns, operates, and maintains.

In 2012, ARD developed the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plan (2012 Plan) as the first phase of its Climate Action Plan to guide decisionmaking related to energy use and GHG emissions. As it committed to in 2012, ARD has developed this Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plan Update 2020 (Update 2020) to review its GHG reductions since the 2012 Plan and to update strategies for further reduction consistent with legislative changes, including the GHG emissions reduction targets established in Senate Bill (SB) 32 (2016), SB 100 (2018), Executive Order B-18-12 (2012), Executive Order B-30-15 (2015), and Executive Order B-55-18 (2018). Since the 2012 Plan was adopted, California’s wholesale electricity market has also seen a significant increase in renewable resources. To reflect this change and to align with industry practice in emission reporting, Update 2020 incorporates updated emission factors to determine emissions from unspecified market resources.

ARD’s near-term goal in the 2012 Plan was to reduce its emissions to 50 percent below 1990 emissions level by 2020. DWR achieved this goal five years early and received a Climate Leadership Award for this accomplishment in 2018. For Update 2020, ARD lays out the following midterm and long-term GHG emissions reduction goals to guide decision-making beyond 2020:

• Mid-term Goal — By 2030, reduce GHG emissions to at least 60 percent below the 1990 level.
• Long-term Goal — By 2045, supply 100 percent of electricity load with zero-carbon resources and achieve carbon neutrality.

Carbon offsets purchased by ARD pursuant to Update 2020 must represent a real, permanent, quantifiable, verifiable, enforceable, and additional reduction of GHG emissions consistent with the requirements of AB 32, as set forth in Section 38562(d)(1) & (2) of the California Health & Safety Code. To that end, ARD may consider purchasing (1) offset credits from a project developed according to a CARB-approved Compliance Offset Protocol pursuant to Subarticle 13 of the Cap-and-Trade Regulation (17 CCR Section 95970 et seq.); (2) offset credits issued by a linked jurisdiction pursuant to Subarticle 12 of the Cap-and-Trade Regulation (17 CCR Section 95940 et seq.); (3) sector-based offset credits issued by an approved sector-based crediting program pursuant to Subarticle 14 of the Cap-andTrade Regulation (17 CCR Section 95990 et seq.); or (4) offset credits issued by a CARB-approved registry or other reputable registry that issues carbon offset credits consistent with the requirements of AB 32 as set forth in Section 38562(d)(1) & (2) of the California Health and Safety Code, from projects developed within the State of California or from projects developed within the United States, if offset credits from California-based projects are not available or are not financially feasible.