Gary Gero, President of Climate Action Reserve, discusses his organization's work drafting carbon offset protocols for the California Air Resources Board's cap-and-trade program.
Gary Gero is president of Climate Action Reserve, an LA-based nonprofit that has drafted four protocols adopted by CARB to evaluate businesses seeking to sell carbon offsets in California’s newly established cap-and-trade program. In advance of Climate Reserve’s 11th annual “Navigating the American Carbon World” conference, held in San Francisco April 16-18, Gero provides The Planning Report with a comprehensive look at the role of offsets in the carbon market, from how they are created and measured, to their ability to boost both profits and employment.
Gero additionally details the framework through which the public may measure the success of the cap-and-trade program, noting that a successful program works by, "setting a price on carbon that actually motivates the reduction of emissions—because the ultimate goal of the program is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions—but does so in a way that is protective of our economy and that actually helps build toward a new cleaner economy."
FULL STORY: Climate Action Reserve’s Gary Gero: Navigating the American Carbon Market

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.

Why Should We Subsidize Public Transportation?
Many public transit agencies face financial stress due to rising costs, declining fare revenue, and declining subsidies. Transit advocates must provide a strong business case for increasing public transit funding.

Wind Energy on the Rise Despite Federal Policy Reversal
The Trump administration is revoking federal support for renewable energy, but demand for new projects continues unabated.

Passengers Flock to Caltrain After Electrification
The new electric trains are running faster and more reliably, leading to strong ridership growth on the Bay Area rail system.

Texas Churches Rally Behind ‘Yes in God’s Back Yard’ Legislation
Religious leaders want the state to reduce zoning regulations to streamline leasing church-owned land to housing developers.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service