2025: Climate Justice Went to Voicemail
California earns a C grade...
Last year, California faced a big call-to-action–but that call for climate justice too often went to voicemail, resulting in a C grade (78%) for California.
2025 was a uniquely challenging year for California legislators facing a slew of hostile federal actions including withheld federal funds for LA fire recovery and revoked Clean Air waivers, in addition to California’s corporate accountability law SB 261 being stalled in court. Lawmakers took some major strides with solutions for clean energy, electricity affordability, and federal defense. Still, Californians needed our state to act as a bold counterweight to the influence of corporate polluters—and California’s inconsistent progress didn’t always meet the mark. In 2026, California’s communities need our leaders to stand firm on their commitment to a healthy, affordable, and resilient future for all.
Bright Spots in 2025:
Bright Spots in 2025:
✅ Fighting Back Against Trump
Passed by the state legislature and overwhelmingly approved by California voters, Proposition 50 combats congressional election rigging in other states, giving voters the ability to choose a federal government that’s more responsive to communities impacted by climate and protecting environmental progress and democracy in our country. California is also holding the line on federal overreach through a series of lawsuits against the Trump administration spearheaded by Attorney General Bonta, including State of New York vs. Trump where states successfully challenged the clean wind project cancellations.
✅ Holding the Line to Protect Against Threats
Governor Newsom helped California stand firm in our commitment to protecting clean air by vetoing SB 34, a bill that would have weakened protections and undermined efforts to meet air quality standards.
✅ Energy Affordability & Grid Regionalization
The Governor, Pro Tem, and Speaker showed important leadership in moving energy affordability policies AB 825 and SB 254 across the finish line, demonstrating that California can take on big, complex challenges while keeping working people at the center.
✅ Protecting California’s Biodiversity
California continued to make meaningful strides in protecting biodiversity this year, strengthening the state’s ability to safeguard wildlife habitats and ecosystems, with legislation to expand protection for migratory birds (AB 454), to reinforce the state’s landmark 30×30 goals (AB 900), and modernized tools to defend endangered species (AB 1319).
Anti-Environmental Actions in 2025:
Anti-Environmental Actions in 2025:
❌ Unfinished Business and Vetoed Bills
In a year with some of the most devastating wildfires and with 80% of Californians wanting accountability for polluters, the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act (SB 684/AB 1243) and Affordable Insurance and Climate Recovery Act (SB 222) didn’t get the support or attention from lawmakers that the moment demanded. The Governor also vetoed bills that would have banned forever chemicals (SB 682), improved energy affordability (SB 541), and banned microplastics (AB 823). Governor Newsom also backfilled the general fund with $1B from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), slashing critical investments and undercutting California’s ability to address escalating climate threats.
❌ Agency and Implementation Delays
The Newsom Administration delayed implementation of a historic plastic pollution reduction law (2024’s SB 54), the California Energy Commission (CEC) stalled on price-gouging penalties under SB 905, SB 261 on corporate accountability and risk has been delayed in the courts, and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) pushed back SB 253 until 2026 and is overdue on carbon capture and storage regulations. The federal government also illegally revoked California’s clean transportation waivers for clean cars and trucks.
❌ Managed Decline
The transition to clean energy is happening, and our state should have been better prepared for this year’s refinery closures. Advancing SB 237, a bill that expands oil drilling in Kern County without adequate health protections for communities and workers, undercut the state’s ability to hold polluters accountable and protect community health. Our legislators missed an opportunity to better plan for this transition and invest in clean transportation so Californians aren’t held hostage by the oil industry.
In 2026, Californians want lawmakers to prioritize:
- Affordability & Corporate Accountability: Californians know what’s driving the affordability crisis: extreme weather fueled by climate change, which in turn drives up the cost of insurance, energy, and groceries. It’s time to make corporate polluters pay their fair share for the damage they’re doing to our communities. (80% of voters agree)
- Conserving Land, Water & Biodiversity: As the federal government dismantles core environmental protections and biodiversity faces unprecedented pressure, California has to double down on defense. (80% of voters agree)
- Clean Transportation & Public Transit: Financing and advancing clean transportation and transit in the wake of the federal government’s illegal revoking of California’s Clean Air Waivers will protect Californians from corporate greed and health impacts. (69% of voters agree)
Accelerating Clean Energy: We must transition from dirty fossil fuels and ensure that communities have access to the air quality and affordability provided by clean energy in a way that supports workers and economic resilience. (68% of voters agree)
How did we determine California's score?
To calculate the California score, we tracked the outcome of 97 total environmental bills introduced in 2025, major pro-environment actions, and major anti-environmental actions the state took.
Of the 97 bills, 43 resulted in pro-environment outcomes and top priority bills were weighted double.
California's 2025 Environmental Actions
| California voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of Prop 50, which the Governor and legislature successfully brought to the ballot, rejecting President Donald Trump’s scheme to rig our elections. |
| The California Air Resources Board (CARB) developed and adopted emergency regulations to continue progress on clean cars after the revocation of the Advanced Clean Cars Federal Clean Air Act waiver. |
| Attorney General Bonta led on five critical lawsuits against the federal government to protect democracy and defend California’s right to clean air and clean energy. |
| The Chuckwalla and Sáttítla Highlands National Monuments were officially designated in 2025, delivering on California’s 30×30 conservation goal. |
| After Republicans in Congress and the president illegally revoked California’s authority to clean our air, Newsom signed an executive order kickstarting the Drive Forward program to develop new regulations and doubling down on California’s commitment to clean cars and trucks. |
| California launched methane sensing satellites to identify massive greenhouse gas hotspots and CARB passed an updated landfill methane regulation that requires landfill operators to act faster and more thoroughly on noxious landfill gas that can harm communities. |
| Governor Newsom made history making California one of the first states to join the International Union for Conservation of Nature, representing our state’s critical role as a global climate leader. |
| At COP 30, Newsom oversaw the signing of new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreements with Colombia, Chile, and Brazil that strengthen international partnerships to fight climate change. |
| Governor Newsom issued an executive order directing state agencies to accelerate long-term solutions that stabilize the insurance and utility sectors to better prepare California for climate-driven disasters. |
| Governor Newsom emerged as a prominent voice pushing back publicly against the Trump administration’s corruption and attacks on issues important to Californians. |
| Governor Newsom convened a January special session to ensure the California Attorney General had the resources needed to fight federal attempts to weaken environmental and climate protections. |
| The federal government illegally revoked California’s clean transportation waivers for cars and trucks. |
| The legislature rushed through a last-minute sweeping budget bill rolling back the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), removing community protections and the process for public input without any clean-up legislation passed. |
| The legislature agreed to a last-minute sweeping policy rushed through the budget to pause all state and local building code updates, undermining public safety, cost savings, and resilience. |
| The California Energy Commission (CEC) voted to delay implementation of the oil price gouging penalty law, leaving Californians vulnerable to Big Oil’s extortion at the pump. |
| Governor Newsom declined to adopt regulations to implement California’s Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act (SB 54), citing burdensome cost to industries as a reason to delay implementation of a historic plastic pollution reduction law that passed in 2022. |
| CARB is overdue in passing regulations to implement the climate corporate accountability laws (SB 253 and SB 261) which will require the largest corporations to publicly report on their emissions and climate risk. |
| Governor Newsom proposed sweeping exemptions to environmental review for new oil drilling. While this was not ultimately adopted, it represents a willingness from Newsom to move California backwards on climate. |
| The state budget shifted $1 billion of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) climate funding away from critical programs that reduce emissions to instead go to the state’s general fund, meaning overall less funding for climate programs. |
| CARB is overdue in passing rules to regulate carbon capture and storage technologies (SB 905 from 2022). |
| The CEC made changes to the Clean Transportation program which deprioritized funding for electric vehicles. |
| The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) failed to pass a zero emission appliance rule, which would begin phasing out polluting gas appliances in homes and buildings, by delaying the vote. |
| SCAQMD approved a weak, voluntary Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that replaced a needed emissions rule for the ports, delaying enforceable pollution reductions for impacted communities. |
| State leaders failed to put in a plan for managed decline of fossil fuels and make investments for clean transportation that cut demand for oil. |
| State leaders fell short on needed improvements to the policy extending California’s Cap-and-Invest program and left the state’s community air monitoring program largely unchanged. |
| The legislature failed to reappoint or confirm the environmental justice members of CARB, allowing the terms to expire in December 2024. |
