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AB-2572 Ocean carbon dioxide removal projects.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 04/24/2024 09:00 PM
AB2572:v97#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 24, 2024
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 21, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2572

Introduced by Assembly Member Muratsuchi

February 14, 2024

An act to add Section 39741.6 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to air resources.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2572, as amended, Muratsuchi. Ocean carbon dioxide removal projects.
Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to establish a Carbon Capture, Removal, Utilization, and Storage Program to capture, remove, and store carbon dioxide, as provided. Existing law requires the program, among other things, to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and viability of specified technologies and to facilitate the capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide from these technologies, where appropriate.
This bill would require the state board, among other things, to develop criteria to determine whether an ocean carbon dioxide removal project is environmentally safe and sustainable, develop, by January 1, 2027, a plan to include ocean carbon dioxide removal technology and projects that it determines are environmentally safe and sustainable into the Carbon Capture, Removal, Utilization, and Storage Program, and to qualify environmentally safe and sustainable projects for inclusion in carbon credit programs, including, but not limited to, the Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulations and the market-based compliance mechanism, as provided. The bill would require the state board and any agency with a relevant financial incentive program, as specified, to consider whether it is appropriate to make an ocean carbon dioxide removal program project eligible for that financial incentive program, to the extent the program ocean carbon dioxide removal project achieves similar or better climate and environmental policy goals.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) National and international policymakers and scientists agree that achieving climate goals, including the goal to keep atmospheric warming from exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, will require some removal of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and oceans.
(b) Emissions reductions and carbon pollution removal must be scaled up rapidly and significantly within this decade to avoid the worst and possibly irreversible consequences of the changing climate.
(c) Several promising technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the air and the ocean are under development.
(d) California is a leader in climate and sustainability policy and technology development and deployment, creating benefits for our state and local economies, the environment, and job creation.
(e) California shall encourage the safe, sustainable, and rapid development and deployment of solutions to the climate crisis.

SEC. 2.

 Section 39741.6 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

39741.6.
 (a) The state board shall do all of the following:
(1) Work with existing interagency working groups to include research on ocean carbon dioxide removal technology development and deployment in future scoping studies.

(2)Develop criteria to determine whether an ocean carbon dioxide removal project is environmentally safe and sustainable.

(2) Develop, by January 1, 2027, a plan to include ocean carbon dioxide removal technology and projects that it determines are environmentally safe and sustainable into the Carbon Capture, Removal, Utilization, and Storage Program established pursuant to Section 39741.1.
(3) Qualify ocean carbon dioxide removal projects that are environmentally safe and sustainable pursuant to paragraph (2) for inclusion in carbon credit programs, including, but not limited to, the Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulations (Subarticle 7 (commencing with Section 95480) of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations) and the market-based compliance mechanism developed pursuant to Part 5 (commencing with Section 38570) of Division 25.5.
(4) Coordinate with other state agencies to develop a single point of contact to coordinate and streamline the permitting of ocean carbon dioxide removal projects.
(5) Cooperate with universities, companies, and others on workforce development, and coordinate with other state agencies with workforce training programs or business development programs to do the same to assist in the development of the skilled workforce needed to develop ocean carbon dioxide removal projects in California.
(b) The state board and any agency with a relevant financial incentive program, including, but not limited to, grants, tax credits, or other financial inducements, shall consider whether it is appropriate to make an ocean carbon dioxide removal program project eligible for that financial incentive program, to the extent the program ocean carbon dioxide removal project achieves similar or better climate and environmental policy goals.
(c) For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Ocean carbon dioxide removal” means a process, technology, or system that occurs or takes place in the ocean or ocean water and extracts carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere or from ocean water in a manner that leads to reduction of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
(2) “Ocean carbon dioxide removal project” means a project that seeks to provide for the reduction of atmospheric carbon dioxide using ocean carbon dioxide removal methods.