38535.
(a) The state board, in consultation with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, shall develop all of the following:(a) (1) A standardized system for quantifying the direct carbon emissions and decay from fuel reduction activities for purposes of meeting the accounting requirements for Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund expenditures. This system may include standardized lookup tables by forest stand type, including for oak woodland forests, and harvest or other management prescriptions. The system shall acknowledge that certain expenditures, such as for planning, analysis, modeling, or outreach, will not have a direct greenhouse gas reduction benefit, but will facilitate necessary climate preparedness activities that will have direct greenhouse gas benefits.
(b) (2) In consultation with academic experts, a historic baseline of greenhouse gas emissions from California’s natural fire regime reflecting conditions before modern fire suppression. This shall be completed on or before December 31, 2020. The baseline may be included within the state board’s natural working lands inventory.
(c) (3) On or before December 31, 2020, and every five three years thereafter, a report that assesses greenhouse gas emissions associated with wildfire and forest management activities. activities, and includes the following information, if feasible:
(A) The greenhouse gas, criteria air pollutant, and short-lived climate pollutant emissions from wildfires and forest fires, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(i) Fires that occurred as a result of an act of nature.
(ii) Fires that were permitted or prescribed by law, such as tree thinning, agricultural burning, and right-of-way maintenance.
(iii) Fires that were not permitted by law, but were caused by humans intentionally, such as arson.
(iv) Fires that occurred incidentally, such as sparks from a motor vehicle or an arcing power line.
(B) An assessment, to the extent feasible, of the increased severity of wildfires and forest fires from the impacts of climate change.
(C) A calculation, to the extent feasible, of the increase in the emissions of criteria air pollutants, greenhouse gases, and short-lived climate pollutants based on the increased severity of wildfires and forest fires assessed pursuant to subparagraph (B).
(b) The state board shall identify what, if any, information in the report required pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) should be included in the scoping plan prepared pursuant to Section 38561.
(c) The state board shall post the report developed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) on the state board’s internet website.