Benefits Quantification with the California Air Resources Board

Zoie Chang
Civil and Environmental Engineering, Atmosphere and Energy program ‘26

This summer, California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Climate Investments Branch invited me to work with them on the development of quantification methodologies for CO₂ emission reduction projects. The priority technology that my internship focused on is direct air capture (DAC), a process that draws CO₂ from ambient air, as opposed to the more well-established process of capturing CO₂ from an emitting source.

I split my time between reviewing literature on DAC - trying to understand the ‘typical’ energy portfolio for the existing operational plants, looking at the emerging research on the differences between DAC technologies, drawing out patterns in the data around energy consumption, solvent use, etc – playing with scenarios on REopt (a modelling tool created by NREL to optimize energy systems) to learn how parameters like PV and energy storage impact a system’s overall demands, and sitting in on branch-wide meetings to hear about the other cool work being done.

I work alongside a small but mighty section of seven full-time staff in the Climate Investments Benefits section. The work in this section focuses on evaluating benefits within the realm of public transportation and water/climate resources. Practically, this looks like:

1. developing and overseeing quantification methodologies (QMs) to ensure that projects are being assessed by a consistent set of standards,
2. providing guidance to administering agencies, that is, any agencies that receive money from the GHG Reduction Fund (GGRF),
3. aggregating and reporting on benefits data, both for public reporting and internal use.  

I’m sure there are even more functionalities beyond these three main areas, as my coworkers wear many hats in their day-to-day duties.

Throughout the internship – and it’s hard to believe that I only have two weeks left now – I’ve found myself feeling so grateful to be in here, in a state with one of the strongest governments and commitment to emissions reduction across the entire nation, contributing what I can to the body of methodologies that allows for fair assessment of climate projects. California Climate Investments is funded solely by proceeds from the Cap-and-Trade Program, putting billions of dollars to work reducing GHG emissions. It’s so rare to find work, and institutions, that are committed purely to the betterment of society. I grew up between the Bay Area and Taiwan, then moved around a lot across the Midwest and East Coast. Especially at a time when actions at the federal level make the future seem bleak, being back in California now and working in state government is instilling a surprising amount of state pride in me. I only wish I had more time to gain institutional knowledge at CARB and the longer-term projects within the Climate Investments Branch.