California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard requires transportation fuels used in the state to meet a declining average carbon intensity. A fuel cleaner than the benchmark for its year generates credits. A fuel above the benchmark generates deficits. The program is run by the California Air Resources Board. The description of the 2025 amendments and the benchmark table below are from CARB’s LCFS Basics document, updated November 2025, unless another link is given. The program page is Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
CARB says the most recent rulemaking took effect on July 1, 2025. The stated goal is a carbon-intensity reduction of at least 30 percent by 2030 and 90 percent by 2045, measured against the program’s baseline.
Benchmarks
Carbon intensity is grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule, written gCO2e/MJ. In the basics document, the gasoline and diesel benchmarks include these years:
| Year | Gasoline | Diesel |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 76.60 | 81.70 |
| 2026 | 75.16 | 80.17 |
| 2027 | 73.72 | 78.63 |
| 2030 | 69.40 | 74.03 |
| 2045 | 9.91 | 10.57 |
For 2026, the same table lists the jet benchmark at 80.17 gCO2e/MJ, the same figure as diesel. CARB shows the jet benchmark tracking the diesel benchmark. The 2026 gasoline and diesel figures also appear in the unofficial electronic text of the regulation approved by the Office of Administrative Law: 2025 LCFS regulation text, July 16, 2025. That PDF is labeled an unofficial version of the approved rule.
This page does not publish an LCFS credit price. Credit prices move, and a single print would be stale the next week. CARB posts transfer reports from the program page.
Crop-based diesel
The same unofficial regulation text limits crop-based biomass-based diesel. Soybean, canola, and sunflower oil are eligible for LCFS credits only up to 20 percent, combined, of a company’s annual biomass-based diesel production reporting. That reporting covers production in California, fuel produced for import into California, and imports. The source is the July 16, 2025 regulation text.
Automatic acceleration
The amendments include an automatic acceleration mechanism that can tighten benchmarks if conditions in the rule are met. CARB’s AAM guidance describes how the mechanism is applied. This page does not restate the trigger arithmetic. The LCFS FAQ dated April 1, 2026 is the companion question-and-answer document.