Achieving a clean and just energy transition requires extensive government support, support California agencies provide through a vast array of programs.
Surveying the California Climate and Energy Transition Funding Landscape
In the tables linked below, we survey the landscape of climate and clean energy transition funding programs and mechanisms in the state of California. We begin by identifying multi-sector programs that attempt to bridge the often-siloed responsibilities and missions of sector-specific agencies. We then focus on transportation investment programs and on energy and building investment programs.
In each area, we provide an overview of the relevant agencies, programs, and types of funding sources, and then separately display the programs that fund planning and capacity building and those that fund specific investments. The investment tables linked below are further subdivided into those that serve individual residents and businesses, on the one hand, and those that fund community groups, local governments, and other public entities. Within each linked table, we identify and briefly describe the funding program, identify the source or sources of funding, the implementing agency, the funding mechanism, and select eligibility criteria.
Note that, in addition to the state resources noted here, households, businesses, and communities seeking funding often combine state funds with separate federal, regional, or local funds, private philanthropic funds, and, in some cases, financing from green investment entities like California’s Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank).
Jump to a specific section of this page:
Standards for Identifying Eligible Communities and Households
Multisector Funding Programs
Transportation Funding Programs
Energy Funding Programs
Table 1. Standards for Identifying Eligible Communities and Households (this will link to PDF)
Multisector Funding Programs
California’s multi-sector programs provide a model for investments that recognize the relationship between different mitigation strategies, as well as the value of developing strategies that respond to communities’ interconnected needs.
Agencies: The Strategic Growth Council (SGC), a cabinet-level council, leads the state’s multi-sector initiatives. The legislature established the Strategic Growth Council to foster interagency coordination. SGC grant programs, research, initiatives, and interagency coordination seek community-centered solutions that promote equity and provide multiple benefits The Council is chaired by the Director of the Office of Planning and Research and includes the secretaries of the following agencies: Department of Food and Agriculture, Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, Natural Resources Agency, Environmental Protection Agency, Health and Human Services Agency, and the State Transportation Agency. The Council also includes three members of the public appointed by the Governor, the State Assembly, and the State Senate.
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF): The state auctions a percentage of the allowances in the cap-and-trade program. The revenue must be devoted to greenhouse gas reductions. Informed by state agencies’ Investment Plan, completed every three years, the Legislature apportions the GGRF funds to specific programs.
General Fund: The legislature has supplemented GGRF funding for specific programs. Taking into account recent cutbacks, the 2021 and 2022 budgets provide $48 billion for a wide range of climate investments.
Table 2. Planning and Capacity Building Programs (this will link to PDF)
Table 3. Investment Programs (this will link to PDF)
Transportation Funding Programs
Transportation emissions are the single largest source of California’s greenhouse gas emissions and are a primary source of emissions harming public health. Strategies to reduce transportation emissions fall into three primary categories:
Electrify cars, buses, and trucks (coupled with decarbonized electricity) and provide charging infrastructure
Reduce reliance on single-occupancy vehicles by supporting alternative modes of transit (walking, biking, transit, car-sharing)
Land use changes that reduce vehicle-miles-traveled by fostering denser development near transit and providing housing close to workplaces.
Multiple state agencies administer programs impacting transportation emissions
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has the primary authority over vehicular pollution. In addition to setting emission standards for cars and heavy-duty vehicles, CARB’s Low Carbon Transportation Investments and Air Quality Improvement Program includes a range of programs, often called “Clean Transportation Incentives,” that incentivize clean investment through rebates and other measures. CARB programs funded by cap-and-trade revenue (California Climate Investments) are consolidated under the “Moving California” program. CARB’s annual funding plan explains the programs and their funding allocations.
The California Energy Commission (CEC) invests in vehicle charging infrastructure and provides some support for medium and heavy-duty vehicles. Its Clean Transportation Program serves as an umbrella for many of these initiatives. The Clean Transportation Program’s specific programs and investments are detailed in the program’s 2022-23 investment plan update.
The California Public Utilities Commission has authorized utility-developed and utility-owned electric vehicle charging stations. The specific mechanisms for these investments appear to be in flux.
The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) helps develop and coordinate policies and programs of the state’s multiple transportation agencies. The agency coordinated the development of the 2021 Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI), which set actions and strategies for reducing GHG emissions and preparing for climate change that apply across all of the transportation agencies and their projects.
The California Transportation Commission (CTC) develops programs and allocates funds for transportation infrastructure, including highways, passenger rail, transit, and active transportation.
The Strategic Growth Council also manages multi-sector programs, which can include but are not limited to transportation investments.
Funding comes through the following sources:
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF): The state auctions a percentage of the allowances in the cap-and-trade program. The revenue must be devoted to greenhouse gas reductions. Informed by state agencies’ Investment Plan, completed every three years, the Legislature apportions the GGRF funds to specific programs. [provide links to charts explaining investment plan process and budget allocation process]
General Fund: In the 2021 and 2022 budget bills, the legislature provided billions of dollars to support vehicle electrification, including charging infrastructure.
Air Pollution Control Fund: This fund holds penalties and fees collected from entities that violate pollution control laws, like penalties from recent settlements with car manufacturers. The legislature allocates these funds to agencies for air pollution improvement projects.
Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Settlement: The funding allocations are set in California’s Beneficiary Mitigation Plan. One funding category is for ZEV infrastructure for light-duty vehicles.
Air Quality Improvement Fund: This fund comes from smog abatement fees collected by the Department of Motor Vehicles and funds the Air Quality Improvement Program.
SB 1, The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, committed $54 billion over 10 years to fix roads and bridges as well as devoting additional resources to transit, active transportation, and safety. The designated funding is in the “Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account.”
CEC Clean Transportation Program funds: Vehicle and vessel registration, vehicle identification plates and smog abatement fees
Proposition 39: This 2012 proposition authorized funds for school and community college investments in energy efficiency and expanded clean energy, and provides funds for replacing diesel school buses.
State transportation agencies also provide a conduit for federal transportation funds from traditional transportation bills, as well as from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021, which dedicated substantial funding for transportation infrastructure (among many other investments).
Transportation funding programs are organized as follows:
Programs Available to Individuals [anchor]
Programs Available to Local Governments, Public Entities, and Communities [anchor]
Pilot Projects, Research Projects, and Discrete Solicitations [anchor]
Programs Available to Individual Households and Businesses
Table 4. Light Duty Passenger Vehicles (this will link to PDF)
Table 5. Heavy Duty Trucks and Buses (this will link to PDF)
Table 6. Active Transportation (this will link to PDF)
Table 7. Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (this will link to PDF)
Jump to a specific section of this page: [Brian’s note: If we like the Google Doc approach and we like them embedded as large as they currently are, I’m leaning toward doing four spin-off pages after all, using the labels in this bulleted list. Otherwise, this page is going to become extraordinarily long and scroll-heavy.]
Standards for Identifying Eligible Communities and Households
Multisector Funding Programs
Transportation Funding Programs
Energy Funding Programs
Multisector Funding Programs
California’s multi-sector programs provide a model for investments that recognize the relationship between different mitigation strategies, as well as the value of developing strategies that respond to communities’ interconnected needs.
Agencies: The Strategic Growth Council (SGC), a cabinet-level council, leads the state’s multi-sector initiatives. The legislature established the Strategic Growth Council to foster interagency coordination. SGC grant programs, research, initiatives, and interagency coordination seek community-centered solutions that promote equity and provide multiple benefits The Council is chaired by the Director of the Office of Planning and Research and includes the secretaries of the following agencies: Department of Food and Agriculture, Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, Natural Resources Agency, Environmental Protection Agency, Health and Human Services Agency, and the State Transportation Agency. The Council also includes three members of the public appointed by the Governor, the State Assembly, and the State Senate.
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF): The state auctions a percentage of the allowances in the cap-and-trade program. The revenue must be devoted to greenhouse gas reductions. Informed by state agencies’ Investment Plan, completed every three years, the Legislature apportions the GGRF funds to specific programs.
General Fund: The legislature has supplemented GGRF funding for specific programs. Taking into account recent cutbacks, the 2021 and 2022 budgets provide $48 billion for a wide range of climate investments.
Transportation Funding Programs
Transportation emissions are the single largest source of California’s greenhouse gas emissions and are a primary source of emissions harming public health. Strategies to reduce transportation emissions fall into three primary categories:
Electrify cars, buses, and trucks (coupled with decarbonized electricity) and provide charging infrastructure
Reduce reliance on single-occupancy vehicles by supporting alternative modes of transit (walking, biking, transit, car-sharing)
Land use changes that reduce vehicle-miles-traveled by fostering denser development near transit and providing housing close to workplaces.
Multiple state agencies administer programs impacting transportation emissions
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has the primary authority over vehicular pollution. In addition to setting emission standards for cars and heavy-duty vehicles, CARB’s Low Carbon Transportation Investments and Air Quality Improvement Program includes a range of programs, often called “Clean Transportation Incentives,” that incentivize clean investment through rebates and other measures. CARB programs funded by cap-and-trade revenue (California Climate Investments) are consolidated under the “Moving California” program. CARB’s annual funding plan explains the programs and their funding allocations.
The California Energy Commission (CEC) invests in vehicle charging infrastructure and provides some support for medium and heavy-duty vehicles. Its Clean Transportation Program serves as an umbrella for many of these initiatives. The Clean Transportation Program’s specific programs and investments are detailed in the program’s 2022-23 investment plan update.
The California Public Utilities Commission has authorized utility-developed and utility-owned electric vehicle charging stations. The specific mechanisms for these investments appear to be in flux.
The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) helps develop and coordinate policies and programs of the state’s multiple transportation agencies. The agency coordinated the development of the 2021 Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI), which set actions and strategies for reducing GHG emissions and preparing for climate change that apply across all of the transportation agencies and their projects.
The California Transportation Commission (CTC) develops programs and allocates funds for transportation infrastructure, including highways, passenger rail, transit, and active transportation.
The Strategic Growth Council also manages multi-sector programs, which can include but are not limited to transportation investments.
Funding comes through the following sources:
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF): The state auctions a percentage of the allowances in the cap-and-trade program. The revenue must be devoted to greenhouse gas reductions. Informed by state agencies’ Investment Plan, completed every three years, the Legislature apportions the GGRF funds to specific programs. [provide links to charts explaining investment plan process and budget allocation process]
General Fund: In the 2021 and 2022 budget bills, the legislature provided billions of dollars to support vehicle electrification, including charging infrastructure.
Air Pollution Control Fund: This fund holds penalties and fees collected from entities that violate pollution control laws, like penalties from recent settlements with car manufacturers. The legislature allocates these funds to agencies for air pollution improvement projects.
Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Settlement: The funding allocations are set in California’s Beneficiary Mitigation Plan. One funding category is for ZEV infrastructure for light-duty vehicles.
Air Quality Improvement Fund: This fund comes from smog abatement fees collected by the Department of Motor Vehicles and funds the Air Quality Improvement Program.
SB 1, The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, committed $54 billion over 10 years to fix roads and bridges as well as devoting additional resources to transit, active transportation, and safety. The designated funding is in the “Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account.”
CEC Clean Transportation Program funds: Vehicle and vessel registration, vehicle identification plates and smog abatement fees
Proposition 39: This 2012 proposition authorized funds for school and community college investments in energy efficiency and expanded clean energy, and provides funds for replacing diesel school buses.
State transportation agencies also provide a conduit for federal transportation funds from traditional transportation bills, as well as from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021, which dedicated substantial funding for transportation infrastructure (among many other investments).
Transportation funding programs are organized as follows:
Programs Available to Individuals [anchor]
Programs Available to Local Governments, Public Entities, and Communities [anchor]
Pilot Projects, Research Projects, and Discrete Solicitations [anchor]
