California’s record-setting wildfires of 2020 destroyed 4.2 million acres of forest — and erased years of progress the state made on battling climate change.

A study by researchers at UCLA and the University of Chicago says the 2020 wildfires released nearly 140 million tons of carbon dioxide into the air. That was nearly as much greenhouse gas emissions as all the passenger vehicles in California generate in a typical year.

Put another way: Between 2003 and 2019, through a variety of measures, California managed to reduce annual carbon emissions by 71 million tons. The 2020 wildfire emissions doubled that figure, according to the study, which was published in the October issue of the academic journal Environmental Pollution…

“There will be these curveballs that nature throws at us,” said the study’s co-author Amir Jina, a public policy assistant professor at the University of Chicago. “We’re going to have these extra shocks coming along.”

Continue reading at The Sacramento Bee…

Areas of Focus: Climate Change
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Climate Change
Climate change is an urgent global challenge. EPIC research is helping to assess its impacts, quantify its costs, and identify an efficient set of policies to reduce emissions and adapt...
Climate Economics
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Climate Economics
Climate change will affect every sector of the economy, both locally and globally. EPIC research is quantifying these effects to help guide policymakers, businesses, and individuals working to mitigate and...
Climate Law & Policy
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Climate Law & Policy
As countries around the world implement policies to confront climate change, EPIC research is calculating which policies will have the most impact for the least cost.