Ryan Schleeter 
Last November, The Climate Center’s Barry Vesser, Baani Behniwal, and Marc Victoria traveled to Dubai, United Arab Emirates for COP28 — the UN’s annual climate conference — to help coordinate the California delegation. With a record attendance of 84,000 people from 193 countries, this COP was massive. You may be wondering why The Climate Center, … Read more
SAN FRANCISCO — COP28, the annual United Nations climate conference, has come to a close. While UN officials call the agreement reached the “beginning of the end” of fossil fuels, it still falls well short of what science says is necessary to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as defined by the Paris Agreement. In … Read more
Executive Summary and Key Recommendations The California Cap and Trade Program plays a pivotal role in the state’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A review of the program ahead of the upcoming 2025 compliance period has opened a critical window of opportunity to address and correct the program’s recognized shortcomings. In this policy brief, … Read more
SACRAMENTO — Lobbying disclosures from Quarter 3, representing lobbying between July 1 and September 30, 2023, show that oil companies and trade associations spent more than $7.2 million on influence-related activities in an all-out effort to kill California climate bills. This brings the total year-to-date spending by Big Oil to more than $20.6 million, already … Read more
SACRAMENTO, October 13, 2023 — Earlier today, Governor Newsom announced that California will receive up to $1.2 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy for the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems (ARCHES) program. ARCHES is a statewide, public-private partnership with the stated goal of accelerating renewable hydrogen projects and supporting California’s transition to … Read more
SACRAMENTO, October 7, 2023 — Moments ago, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a suite of bills passed by the California legislature designed to hold corporate climate polluters accountable. Bills signed by the governor today include: “Without transparency, there can be no accountability,” said Ryan Schleeter, Communications Director for The Climate Center. “We applaud Governor Newsom for … Read more
Update September 17, 2023: Speaking at a panel discussion on climate change in New York City on Sunday, Governor Newsom indicated that he will sign SB 253 (Wiener) and SB 261 (Stern), both of which are focused on corporate climate accountability. ### SACRAMENTO — Today, before thousands of people prepare to march in both New … Read more
SACRAMENTO — Last night, the 2023 California legislative session came to a close. Critical pieces of climate legislation now awaiting Governor Newsom’s signature include: “In a year defined by record-breaking climate disasters across the globe, all eyes have been on California,” said Nicole Rivera, Government Affairs Director for The Climate Center. “State lawmakers stepped up … Read more
On September 8, 2023, the United Nations released its first “stocktake” report on progress toward the goals of the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Those goals are to stay below 2 degrees Celsius of warming and strive to stay below 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels. The report states: “The first [stocktake] is taking … Read more
Decarbonizing existing residential buildings is critical to meeting California’s climate goals. Buildings in California are responsible for almost 44 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, or 25 percent of the state’s climate pollution. Recent research shows that, to keep pace with the latest climate science and stay below 1.5 degrees Celsius of … Read more
