When Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown launched California toward a new goal of reducing greenhouse gases last year, they did so without addressing one of the state’s key mechanisms for reaching the goal: the cap-and-trade program.

By taking that first step of setting climate change reduction benchmarks, Democrats pushing for tougher environmental regulations now have leverage over businesses in determining how the state will reach its ambitious goals.

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“The state’s goal for 2030 is really bold and ambitious,” said Michael Wara, an associate professor at Stanford Law School who is advising legislators on cap-and-trade. “Emissions reductions are going to be a little bit harder to achieve, because we can’t rely on unemployment and reduced income driving reductions.”