A few weeks ago, the Trump administration reintroduced plans to open nearly 2 million acres of California’s public lands to oil drilling and possibly fracking through the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM). In 2019, a coalition of California environmental groups successfully fought off Trump’s first attempts to open these lands — including areas close … Read more
Affordability continues to be a concern both in California and nationwide, despite Trump calling it a fake issue. Fortunately, investments in clean energy and other climate solutions are investments in affordability! Numerous studies point to climate-fueled extreme weather as a driver of rising consumer costs, especially for food. In fact, U.S. food prices are up … Read more
As 2025 comes to a close, I want to acknowledge that it’s been a tough year for climate action with near-constant attacks on our progress from a science-denying, pro-oil federal administration. I don’t want to underestimate our challenges, but I do want to celebrate our victories! This year, The Climate Center collaborated with partners to … Read more
I’m thrilled that The Climate Center is attending the United Nations annual climate conference once again. This year’s 30th “Conference of the Parties,” or COP30, brings together governmental representatives from almost every country in the world, along with tens of thousands from civil society, to advance climate action. Chief Program Officer Barry Vesser and Legislative … Read more
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
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
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
On August 20, 2025, the Assembly Utilities and Energy, Natural Resources, and Transportation Committees held a joint hearing on how to further an equitable transition from fossil fuels to clean transportation fuels. The following testimony was given to the committees by Allison Hilliard, Legislative Manager for The Climate Center: We need bold, equitable action to … Read more
You may not have heard much about geothermal energy before, but chances are you’re going to be hearing a lot about it over the next few years. Geothermal power plants convert heat from the Earth into electricity, generating about one-tenth of the carbon emissions of a fossil gas plant. Geothermal energy is clean, reliable around … Read more
My introduction to climate work started with a pretty eye-opening discovery in my middle school cafeteria. As part of our sixth-grade service learning project, my classmates and I had to identify a problem impacting our public school and come up with a solution. My team and I figured we’d tackle something environmental — we had … Read more
