Southwest

Texas

Texas is the top energy producing state in the country, leading the country in the production of both crude oil and natural gas. The oil and gas industry is Texas’ biggest contributor to the state’s GDP due to its vast fossil fuel reserves and production capacity, with the industrial sector accounting for a quarter of the country’s total industrial energy use. Texas has an independent power grid, disconnected from other regions, which can leave it particularly vulnerable to climate impacts. The state also has substantial renewable resources, leading the nation in wind energy and is also a top solar producer. Despite this, emissions increased by 17% from 1990-2022.

Governor

Greg Abbott (Republican)

House Party

Republican Majority

Senate Party

Republican Majority

Legislative session

No regular session

Electricity market structure

Deregulated

U.S. EPA

Largest source of GHG emissions

Industry

Local control status

Dillon's rule

Key Offices & Links

11

Policies Enacted or In Progress

across 5 policy areas

See all

58

Policy Opportunities

across 6 policy areas

See all

Southwest

4 states

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

Compare with other states

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Not Enacted Not enacted policies have not been passed or established in the state or are no longer in effect.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.

Status	Policy	Policy Area	Policy Category
Not Enacted	Buy Clean Requirements Empty column Buy clean requirements mandate or incentivize the use of low-carbon construction materials, such as concrete and steel, in public projects to address embodied carbon.	Industry, Materials, and Waste Management	Industrial Decarbonization
Not Enacted	Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) Regulations Empty column Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) regulations include phasedown commitments, rulemakings, disclosure requirements, bans, or other measures that reduce HFC usage and emissions.	Industry, Materials, and Waste Management	F-gas Regulations
Not Enacted	Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) Regulations Empty column Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) regulations include phasedown commitments, reporting requirements, bans, or other measures that reduce SF6 usage and emissions.	Industry, Materials, and Waste Management	F-gas Regulations
Not Enacted	Oil and Gas Methane Regulations Empty column Oil and gas methane regulations include phasedown commitments, reporting requirements, leak detection and repair, or other measures that reduce methane emissions from oil and gas production.	Industry, Materials, and Waste Management	Oil and Gas Regulations
Not Enacted	Fracking Bans Empty column Fracking bans prohibit the practice of hydraulic fracking for the production of oil and/or natural gas by a certain year. Legislation often requires an environmental agency or department to promulgate regulations.	Industry, Materials, and Waste Management	Oil and Gas Regulations
Not Enacted	Landfill Methane Regulations Empty column Landfill methane regulations include rulemakings, emissions monitoring, emissions control, or other measures that reduce methane emissions from decaying organic waste in landfills.	Industry, Materials, and Waste Management	Waste Management
Not Enacted	Food Waste Bans and Targets Empty column Food waste bans and targets include policies that prohibit certain entities that generate specified amounts of food waste (typically commercial businesses and larger institutions) from sending this waste to landfills. Targets aim to reduce total food waste by a certain percentage each target year.	Industry, Materials, and Waste Management	Waste Management

Texas

Key Offices & Links

11

58

Southwest

Progress by Policy Area

Climate Governance and Equity

Cross-Sector

Electricity

Buildings and Efficiency

Transportation

Industry, Materials, and Waste Management

Natural and Working Lands

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in Texas

Climate Policies in Texas