The annual statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventory is an important tool in
tracking progress towards meeting statewide GHG goals. The inventory for 2017 shows that
California’s GHG emissions continue to decrease. In 2017, emissions from GHG emitting
activities statewide were 424 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent (MMTCO2e), 5 MMTCO2e
lower than 2016 levels and 7 MMTCO2e below the 2020 GHG Limit of 431 MMTCO2e.
Consistent with recent years, these reductions have occurred while California’s economy has
continued to grow and generate jobs. Compared to 2016, California’s GDP grew 3.6 percent
while the carbon intensity of its economy declined by 4.5 percent. The most notable highlights in
the inventory include:
• For the first time since California started to track GHG emissions, in-state and total
electricity generation from zero-GHG sources (for purposes of the GHG inventory,
these include solar, hydro, wind, and nuclear) exceeded generation from GHGemitting sources.
• The transportation sector remains the largest source of GHG emissions in the state,
but saw a 1 percent increase in emissions in 2017, the lowest growth rate over the
past 4 years.
• Emissions from all other sectors have remained relatively constant in recent years,
although emissions from high Global Warming Potential (GWP) gases have continued
to increase as they replace Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) banned under the
1987 Montreal Protocol.
source: https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/cc/inventory/pubs/reports/2000_2017/ghg_inventory_trends_00-17.pdf
