SACRAMENTO, CA — In a major step toward ensuring California meets its net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets with scientific integrity, the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality approved SB 285, which establishes rigorous standards for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and offsets used to balance out emissions. The bill ensures that carbon removal solutions are effective, durable, and aligned with climate science, preventing misleading claims about net-zero progress.
“As California pushes forward to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, we must ensure that carbon removal solutions truly balance out emissions and don’t serve as a loophole for polluters,” said Senator Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park). “SB 285 sets strong standards for what can be counted toward the state’s net-zero targets, ensuring that offsets provide real, lasting climate benefits.”
"California needs carbon removal––including Direct Air Capture–– in order to achieve its 2045 net-zero goal, but has yet to legislate a plan to scale-up these critical climate technologies. SB285 helps ensure that California counts carbon removal in a way that leads the world in climate progress and quality, bringing more job-creating facilities online on the urgent timeline required to keep our climate goals in play," said Jason Hochman, Executive Director at the Direct Air Capture Coalition.
California has set multiple net-zero targets, including:
2045 Net-Zero Goal for the Entire State (AB 1279, 2022)
- 2035 Net-Zero Goal for State Agencies (SB 1203, 2022)
- 2045 Net-Zero Goal for Cement Sold in California (SB 596, 2021)
While reducing emissions from fossil fuels must be the top priority, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and California’s Scoping Plan have confirmed that carbon removal (CDR) is necessary to close the gap. However, current law lacks clear rules on what qualifies as legitimate carbon removal, leaving the state vulnerable to short-term storage methods that don’t effectively offset long-lasting emissions, carbon removal projects that cause environmental harm, and offsets that allow polluters to claim net-zero without real reductions.
SB 285 sets clear, enforceable criteria for carbon removal to ensure that only legitimate and durable solutions count toward net-zero goals. It requires removed carbon to be stored durably, including financial responsibility for long-term monitoring and replacement of losses so that we can be confident that the removed carbon will stay out of the atmosphere for at least 100 years.
Provisions of SB 285 include:
- Limits Biomass Feedstocks –Restricts carbon removal to using waste materials only, preventing deforestation and ensuring environmental sustainability.
- Excludes Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) – Stops carbon removal projects from being used to assist increased fossil fuel production.
- Eliminates Sunset on CARB’s Authority – Restores the California Air Resources Board’s ability to set protocols for all forms of long-term carbon storage, beyond just geological sequestration.
- Requires “Like-for-Like” Matching of Emissions & Removals – Prevents fossil fuel emissions that last hundreds of years from being offset with short-term solutions like tree planting unless there is a commitment to maintain the carbon stored in those trees for 100 years or more.
- Mandates Transparency in Reporting – Emissions reporting must separately show actual emissions and CDR used to balance those emissions, ensuring accountability and preventing misleading net-zero claims.
SB 285 aligns with California’s broader climate strategy by ensuring that carbon removal complements emissions reductions, rather than replacing them. By enforcing scientific rigor, the bill will support legitimate carbon removal solutions, prevent greenwashing and misleading net-zero claims, and ensure emissions reductions remain the primary goal.
SB 285 is expected to be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee in the coming weeks.