Summary/Abstract
The core aim of SB 308 is to create predictable, long-term and escalating demand for carbon dioxide removal through amending California’s Health and Safety Code. The bill intends for major emitters of carbon dioxide to remove and store carbon dioxide that cannot otherwise be eliminated, either through developing their own carbon removal projects or through other entities. SB 308 has been put on a gradual timeline, building up to requiring 100% of remaining emissions to be removed and stored by 2045. The scope for CDR activities is quite wide, where the bill states that “The carbon dioxide process may remove carbon from the atmosphere directly or indirectly, including by direct air capture or using carbon stored in biomass or soil or absorbed in water.”
To effectuate the regulations proposed, the bill provides the California Air and Resources Board (CARB) the power to use existing regulations and create new ones. CARB was also empowered to verify and enforce the carbon dioxide removal processes. However, the bill does not provide for who would pay for the removal processes, nor does it specify liability for failing to abide by the bill.
The bill also seeks to establish environmental and social safeguards. For example, in cases where carbon removal is effectuated via biomass, it would require that the feedstock be sourced from residues or waste products. Further, risks local to communities adjacent to CDR activities are to be minimized and conducted only after “meaningful community engagement“.