Keep tabs on climate and energy legislation in California and urge your representatives to take action for a climate-safe future.
The Climate Center’s Bill Tracker helps you stay on top of the climate bills that are in front of the California legislature — and take action. The tracker includes a curated list of bills addressing energy, climate justice, transportation, adaptation, resilience, sequestration, and other issues related to the climate crisis. To review all bills in … Read more
SB 279 would expand composting capacity on farms and in communities, divert more food scraps from landfills, and provide California growers with a climate-friendly alternative to open burning. Composting creates healthy soils that draw carbon out of the atmosphere, retain water, and increase food security. It also reduces climate pollution by preventing methane emissions. By … Read more
AB 740 (Harabedian) will accelerate the use of virtual power plants (VPPs), which are networks of clean, distributed energy resources like smart thermostats, home batteries, smart plugs, electric water heaters, and electric vehicles. When aggregated, these resources can deliver energy during peak demand hours, creating savings for the VPP participants and for all electricity customers … Read more
SB 840, by lead authors Senators Monique Limón and Mike McGuire, addresses the state’s approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This bill sets the groundwork for reforming and extending Cap and Trade, the market-based compliance mechanism that reduces emissions while generating funds to invest in climate solutions. Cap and Trade originally set declining annual aggregate … Read more
AB 1207 aims to extend California’s Cap and Trade program, which is a market-based system that focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and generating funds to invest in climate solutions. Currently, this bill would retain all of the existing program elements but would require the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to consider the “social cost” … Read more
AB 942 would cement a proposal by the California Public Utilities Commission to break the state’s contract with nearly 2 million solar customers. It would punish the very people who California encouraged to invest early in solar energy by reneging on the state’s guaranteed net metering policy. This decision would gut consumer confidence and trust … Read more
AB 526 will task the California Energy Commission (CEC) with producing a strategic plan for the development of new in-state advanced geothermal energy systems in California. Geothermal energy holds immense potential as a clean, reliable, affordable, and virtually inexhaustible source of 24/7, round-the-clock power. Advanced geothermal systems, which utilize new technologies to maximize heat extraction … Read more
AB 491 will make California the first state in the nation to codify climate targets that harness the power of California’s natural and working lands to achieve carbon neutrality. In 2022, the legislature passed AB 1757 (C. Garcia & R. Rivas), which directed state agencies to determine targets for nature-based climate solutions that reduce greenhouse … Read more
AB 399 will protect and restore blue carbon ecosystems, such as coastal wetlands, in the coastal permitting process. It will authorize the California Coastal Commission to require a contribution to a blue carbon demonstration project with any coastal development permit that will impact coastal wetlands, subtidal, intertidal, or marine habitats. Blue carbon refers to the … Read more