West

California

California has long been a leader in climate and environmental justice policy and is one of the world’s largest economies. Despite ambitious climate policies, including an emissions reduction target of 85% below 1990 levels by 2045, emissions decreased only 7% from 1990-2021. Around half of in-state electricity is generated from renewables, and the state is the nation’s top producer of electricity from solar and geothermal resources. The state ranks 7th in the country for crude oil production, although both crude oil and natural gas production are steadily declining.
GHG Reduction Targets
All targets relative to 1990 levels
2030
40%
2045
85%
2045
Carbon neutral
Governor
Gavin Newsom (Democrat)
House Party
Democratic Supermajority
Senate Party
Democratic Supermajority
Legislative session
12/2/24 - 9/12/25
US Climate Alliance Status
Member

47

Policies Enacted or In Progress
across 7 policy areas

15

Policy Opportunities
across 4 policy areas

West

11 states
This map shows the occurrence of climate policies passed at the state-level. Higher numbers represent more climate policies enacted.

Progress by Policy Area

  • Enacted Enacted policies have been passed or established in a state by a governing body via legislation, executive orders, rules, regulations, and/or other program creation, and remain in effect.
  • In-progress In progress policies have been established in a state, but final regulations, rules, or plans are pending final approval. This also includes legislation and executive orders that require regulations to be put into effect.
  • Partially Enacted Partially enacted policies have been enacted in the state, but are missing one or more policy components. Dashboard policies cannot be considered partially enacted unless policy components are available.
  • Not Enacted Not enacted policies have not been passed or established in the state or are no longer in effect.
Glossary of Terms
The colored bars indicate the status for each policy on the Dashboard, viewed across seven policy areas.
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enacted
enacted
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enacted
enacted
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partially-enacted
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Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in California

Created in partnership with

Business As Usual

Chart with 9 data series.
The chart has 1 X axis displaying Year.
The chart has 1 Y axis displaying Million Metric Tons / Year. Data ranges from -16.2194 to 412.62162.
End of interactive chart.

Climate Policies in California

Filters
Status Policy Policy Area Policy Category Year Enacted
Not Enacted
Climate Governance and Equity
Environmental Justice and Equity
Empty column

Cumulative impact assessments determine the health and environmental impacts of renewing or granting a permit for certain pollution-generating facilities in environmental justice communities. Increased pollution burdens in communities may result in the permit application being denied.

Not Enacted
Climate Governance and Equity
Just Transition
Empty column

Just transition plans are documents that outline policies and recommendations aimed at supporting communities, workers, and industries affected by the transition away from fossil fuels. The plans often focus on workforce development and retraining, job creation, and economic diversification.

Not Enacted
Climate Governance and Equity
Just Transition
Empty column

Just transition offices and staff assist workers and communities transitioning away from fossil fuel extraction and use, typically through retraining programs and support with relocation and economic diversification. Offices and staff also coordinate with other state agencies to effectively design policy to achieve a just transition.

Not Enacted
Climate Governance and Equity
Just Transition
Empty column

Just transition advisory bodies write or advise on a state's just transition plan or report, and make recommendations on ways to support affected workers, communities, and industries. The bodies can consist of all non-government members, or be a mix of government and non-government members.

Not Enacted
Climate Governance and Equity
Just Transition
Empty column

Just transition funds support initiatives and investments aimed at facilitating the equitable transition of workers and communities affected by shifts in industries or policies that transition from fossil fuels.

Not Enacted
Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Empty column

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Policy Components
not-enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
0/5
Partially Enacted
Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Empty column

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Policy Components
enacted
enacted
not-enacted
enacted
enacted
enacted
enacted
enacted
enacted
enacted
not-enacted
9/11
Partially Enacted
Electricity
Clean Energy Generation
Empty column

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Policy Components
enacted
enacted
enacted
not-enacted
not-enacted
enacted
4/6
Not Enacted
Electricity
Coal Retirement
Empty column

Coal phaseouts establish a target year by which states must end coal-fired power generation.

Not Enacted
Electricity
Coal Retirement
Empty column

Coal securitization is a financing tool that allows utility companies to refinance debt they issued to build coal plants and close the facilities early without taking a financial hit or passing costs on to ratepayers.

Not Enacted
Buildings and Efficiency
Building Codes
Empty column

Stretch building energy codes are an optional, more stringent building code established by the state that local jurisdictions can adopt to require that newly constructed buildings are more efficient than the baseline state codes.

Not Enacted
Buildings and Efficiency
Building Standards
Empty column

Building performance standards establish energy and/or greenhouse gas performance targets for existing buildings in a state. These targets increase in stringency over time, leading to efficiency improvements in buildings to conserve energy and reduce emissions.

Not Enacted
Buildings and Efficiency
Building Standards
Empty column

Clean heat standards establish a performance standard requiring heat providers to deliver a gradually-increasing percentage of low-emission heating services to customers.

Partially Enacted
Buildings and Efficiency
Building Efficiency
Empty column

The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled.

Policy Components
enacted
enacted
not-enacted
enacted
3/4
Not Enacted
Transportation
Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles
Empty column

Medium- and heavy-duty (MHD) electric vehicle rebates consist of programs and policies that offer rebates to make MHD electric vehicles more affordable to increase their adoption in a state.

The State Climate Policy Dashboard tracks only passed policies and does not include bills currently proposed in legislative sessions. The website is intended to illustrate the current status of policies for each state, as well as key resources and model states for each policy.

Much of the information contained in this database is derived from the public domain, with links to resources provided. The information provided is made available solely for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Click here for full Terms of Use.

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