AB 2649 (C. Garcia) The Natural Carbon Sequestration and Resilience Act of 2022 would have established the first-ever targets for sequestering from the atmosphere 60 million metric tons (MMT) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) annually on California’s natural, working and urban lands by 2030, and then increased that target to 75 MMT CO2e annually by 2035. Read the bill author’s FACTSHEET. Read the coalition Letter of Support. STATUS: Held August 11 in the Senate Appropriations Committee (FAILED).
Even though AB 2649 failed, the ideas and elements in the bill were taken up by the Governor late in the legislative session and formed a key part of the suite of climate action bills that the Governor signed on Sep 16, 2022. The new bill, AB 1757 is now law and is the first law in the state that sets state targets for natural and working lands carbon sequestration.