Community Energy Resilience

Advancing Affordability Through  Electrification

Press Conference 2 Area D, COP30, Belém, Brazil

At this press conference at the United Nations climate conference — COP30 in Belém, Brazil — California State Senators Josh Becker and Henry Stern discussed SB 254, a California bill signed into law by Governor Newsom this year to address electricity affordability. The senators also shared the difficulties Californians are experiencing with rising electricity costs … Read more

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Clean energy gains globally

Clean energy has now surpassed coal as the world’s leading source of electricity. It costs less — with solar now the cheapest form of power by far — and can be installed faster than fossil fuel infrastructure. In fact, in the first half of 2025, clean energy demand outpaced fossil fuel power globally for the … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Community Energy Resilience
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Tell Governor Newsom to Stand Up for Climate Action at COP30

Governor Newsom at UN Climate Week in 2023, where he committed to sign SB 253 and 261. Photo: Office of the California Governor.

This year’s United Nations climate conference, COP30 in Belém, Brazil, is bringing together world leaders to share how they’re tackling climate change back home. With an anti-science, pro-oil president, the world is counting on California to step up on climate. California leaders, and especially Governor Newsom, must defend California’s climate progress against attacks from the … Read more

Categories Carbon Drawdown Community Energy Resilience Fossil Fuels
| Blog Post

Corporate utilities are making California’s electricity more expensive

Man measuring solar panel

Last week, Governor Newsom vetoed three common-sense bills to advance affordable, clean energy. That included AB 740 (Harabedian), a low-cost, non-controversial bill co-sponsored by The Climate Center that passed the state legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support. AB 740 and two other bills that were vetoed (AB 44 and SB 541) aimed to expand the state’s … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Community Energy Resilience
| Press Release

Governor Newsom vetoes bill to expand virtual power plants – The Climate Center response

SACRAMENTO, October 6, 2025 — Late on Friday, October 3, 2025, Governor Newsom vetoed AB 740 (Harabedian), co-sponsored by The Climate Center, Advanced Energy United, and Environment California.  The bill would have accelerated the use of virtual power plants (VPPs), which are networks of clean, distributed energy resources like smart thermostats, home batteries, rooftop solar, … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Community Energy Resilience Energy Efficiency

Inside Sacramento: 2025 Climate Policy Recap

Zoom

The 2025 California legislative session ended on September 13. During this webinar, we heard from legislators, environmental justice leaders, and clean energy experts about several hot topics that emerged during this session — from the future of refineries and the state’s Cap and Invest program (formerly Cap and Trade), to scaling up nature-based solutions and … Read more

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States are taking the lead on climate

Last week, the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of governors representing 24 states and 60 percent of the U.S. economy, gathered in New York City for Climate Week. As Trump lied to the United Nations about clean energy, the Alliance delivered a showcase of state-level climate actions, including a new analysis highlighting how states … Read more

Categories Clean Energy Community Energy Resilience

Enhancing Collaboration to Achieve Clean, Distributed Energy Policy Goals

2000 Franklin St. Oakland, CA 94612

Accelerated deployment of clean, distributed energy resources like rooftop solar, batteries, and electric vehicles in California would help solve multiple challenges, including energy affordability, resilience, and equity. The purpose of this meeting is to collaboratively envision how aligned stakeholders — including environmental organizations, environmental justice advocates, and related industry allies — can collaborate more effectively … Read more

| Blog Post

California’s 2025 legislative session closes with some climate progress

The California Legislature ended its 2025 session on Saturday. All in all, despite some setbacks, we made more progress than I thought possible.  I am very proud of the collaborative leadership role The Climate Center played, especially in light of the federal administration’s efforts to dismantle climate and clean energy policies and slash funding. The … Read more

Categories Community Energy Resilience Fossil Fuels Natural Carbon Sequestration