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
Update 7/24/25: Thanks to your advocacy, the Senate Utility, Energy, and Communications Committee removed provisions in this legislation that punished homeowners, renters, nonprofits, and small businesses for living in, selling, or purchasing a property with solar panels. The Climate Center has now adopted a neutral stance on this bill. AB 942 would cement a proposal … 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
We are at a pivotal time when California must address not only the climate crisis but also the electricity affordability crisis, which threatens the success of California’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts. Over the past decade, utility rates have risen 127 percent for the average Californian. Meanwhile, PG&E, SoCal Edison, and SDG&E are recording record … Read more
Geothermal energy holds immense potential as a clean, reliable, affordable, and virtually inexhaustible source of 24/7, round-the-clock power. Geothermal power plants work by converting heat from the Earth into electricity, generating about one-tenth of the carbon emissions of a fossil gas plant. Once constructed, some NextGen geothermal systems may even be zero-emission. Geothermal is also … Read more