Ryan Schleeter 
With an anti-science, climate-denying, far-right extremist officially the Republican nominee for president, it might feel like public support for climate action is dwindling. But recent polling tells a much more encouraging story. For the first time, a majority of American voters across party lines say they want the country to do more to address the … Read more
On July 3, 2024, the California legislature passed SB 867 to put a $10 billion bond to fund climate solutions before voters on the November ballot. To counter massive funding cuts to state climate programs, the bond will provide sustained investment in clean drinking water, wildfire preparedness, sustainable agriculture, and more. The following expert testimony … Read more
On July 1, 2024, SB 59 passed out of the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee by a vote of 12-3. Introduced by Senator Nancy Skinner and sponsored by The Climate Center, SB 59 aims to unlock the potential for California’s millions of electric vehicles to shore up the electric grid, power homes during outages, and … Read more
Californians face growing risks from extreme heat thanks to the climate crisis. Worldwide, we’ve experienced record-breaking temperatures for 12 consecutive months — a trend that comes with grave consequences. In June of 2021, a heat wave killed nearly 900 people in the Pacific Northwest. In the summer of 2022, more than 60,000 people died in … Read more
SACRAMENTO — Moments ago, the California legislature passed AB 107, the Budget Act of 2024. As expected following Governor Newsom’s May revise, this budget includes billions in cuts and deferrals to climate spending, impacting programs for wildfire resilience, distributed clean energy, sustainable agriculture, and more. In response, The Climate Center’s Chief Operating Officer Barry Vesser … Read more
SACRAMENTO — Moments ago, Governor Newsom revealed key details of his May budget revision to be released next week, cementing his intentions to cut billions of dollars from programs designed to clean the air and reduce climate pollution. Despite a multibillion-dollar deficit, the governor is yet to respond to advocates’ calls to eliminate all tax … Read more
Right now, Governor Newsom and the state legislature are in critical budget negotiations. The governor will issue his revised budget proposal on May 14, then the legislature will have until June 15 to vote on the final budget. The governor’s budget still includes billions in potential cuts to climate and clean air investments that would … Read more
SACRAMENTO — Lobbying disclosures for quarter one show that the oil industry spent over $7.2 million to kill California legislation that would make corporate polluters pay their fair share. The top five oil industry spenders alone spent over $6.1 million to influence California state leaders, led by Chevron at over $3 million. The Western States … Read more
On April 24, 2024, the California Assembly Budget Subcommittee on the Climate Crisis, Resources, Energy, and Transportation met to hear from experts and the public on the proposed 2024-2025 state budget. Facing a multi-billion-dollar budget deficit, Governor Newsom has proposed billions in potential cuts to climate and energy investments. If approved by the legislature, the … Read more
SACRAMENTO — On Monday, the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) released a new set of targets for nature-based climate solutions as required by AB 1757 (C. Garcia and R. Rivas, 2022). While the new targets should help California sequester more carbon on our natural and working lands than we emit, they mean little without state … Read more
