The state board, in consultation with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, shall develop all of the following:
(a) A standardized system for quantifying the direct carbon emissions and decay from fuel reduction activities for purposes of meeting the accounting requirements for Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund expenditures. This system may include standardized lookup tables by forest stand type, including for oak woodland forests, and harvest or other management prescriptions. The system shall acknowledge that certain expenditures, such as for planning, analysis, modeling, or outreach, will not have a direct greenhouse gas reduction benefit, but will facilitate necessary climate preparedness activities that will have direct greenhouse gas benefits.
(b) In consultation with academic experts, a historic baseline of greenhouse gas emissions from California’s natural fire regime reflecting conditions before modern fire suppression. This shall be completed on or before December 31, 2020. The baseline may be included within the state board’s natural working lands inventory.
(c) On or before December 31, 2020, and every five years thereafter, a report that assesses greenhouse gas emissions associated with wildfire and forest management activities.
(Added by Stats. 2018, Ch. 626, Sec. 4. (SB 901) Effective January 1, 2019.)