Reports
Assessing California’s progress toward its 2020 GHG limit
We present a retrospective analysis of California’s greenhouse gas emissions to assess how the state has achieved faster-than-expected emissions reductions, meeting its 2020 emissions reduction goal four years early in 2016.
Tracking banking in the Western Climate Initiative cap-and-trade program
We present methods for tracking observed banking behavior on both an annual and multi-year compliance period basis in the Western Climate Initiative cap-and-trade program.
GHG Accounting in the Power Source Disclosure Program: 2019 Comments
Summary Near Zero submitted a comment letter to the California Energy Commission on its AB 1110 Implementation Rulemaking for the Power Source Disclosure Program. We appreciate the effort the Commission has put into updating the PSD Program to account for the...
An open-source model of the Western Climate Initiative cap-and-trade program with supply-demand scenarios through 2030
To aid in understanding the range of possible outcomes for the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) cap-and-trade program, we built WCI-RULES, an open-source model that allows users to explore a wide range of scenarios
GHG Accounting in the Power Source Disclosure Program
Near Zero comments on the California Energy Commission’s proposal for greenhouse gas accounting by retail electricity suppliers in the Power Source Disclosure Program.
California’s Cap-and-Trade Reforms: October 2018 Comment Letter
Near Zero comments on the serious risk that excess allowances in the cap-and-trade program will frustrate its ability to deliver the emission reductions called for in the 2017 Scoping Plan, a potential loophole in the proposed definition of “direct environmental benefits” for carbon offsets, and the need to work toward a science-based policy strategy.
An open-source model of supply and demand in the Western Climate Initiative cap-and-trade program
Near Zero's open-source model of the Western Climate Initiative cap-and-trade program is intended to help project, analyze, and track market outcomes. It allows users to explore the future market supply and demand balance through 2030, based on users' assumptions...
Tracking banking in the Western Climate Initiative cap-and-trade program
We present a method for tracking the private bank of compliance instruments, showing the extent to which allowance overallocation is manifesting
Greenhouse Gas Accounting and the Aliso Canyon Mitigation Agreement
Danny Cullenward, Michael Mastrandrea, and Mason Inman of Near Zero, together with Geeta Persad of Union of Concerned Scientists, commented on the Aliso Canyon Mitigation Agreement regarding the 2015-2016 Aliso Canyon natural gas leak.
Ontario’s exit exacerbates allowance overallocation in the Western Climate Initiative cap-and-trade program
New data show that the net result of Ontario’s brief participation in California and Québec’s cap-and-trade program was to inflate the program’s supply by 13.2 million allowances, adding to concerns about allowance overallocation.