West

California

California has long been a leader in climate and environmental justice policy and is one of the world’s largest economies. Despite ambitious climate policies, including an emissions reduction target of 85% below 1990 levels by 2045, emissions decreased only 7% from 1990-2021. Around half of in-state electricity is generated from renewables, and the state is the nation’s top producer of electricity from solar and geothermal resources. The state ranks 7th in the country for crude oil production, although both crude oil and natural gas production are steadily declining.

GHG Reduction Targets

All targets relative to 2005 levels

2030 :

40%

2045 :

85%

2045 :

Carbon neutral

Governor

Gavin Newsom (Democrat)

House Party

Democratic Supermajority

Senate Party

Democratic Supermajority

Legislative session

1/3/24 - 8/31/24

US Climate Alliance Status

Member

Key Offices & Links

47

Policies Enacted or In Progress

across 7 policy areas

See all

15

Policy Opportunities

across 4 policy areas

See all

West

11 states

This map shows the occurrence of climate policies passed at the state-level. Higher numbers represent more climate policies enacted.

Compare with other states

Progress by Policy Area

Enacted
In-progress
Partially Enacted
Not Enacted

Glossary of Terms

Status	Policy	Policy Area	Policy Category	YR Enacted
Enacted	Residential Energy Codes Empty column The statewide energy code for residential construction is the California 2022 Energy Code. Establishing Policies California State Energy Code (2021)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes	2021
Enacted	Commercial Energy Codes Empty column The statewide energy code for commercial building construction is the California 2022 Energy Code. Establishing Policies California State Energy Code (2021)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes	2021
Not Enacted	Stretch Building Energy Codes Empty column Stretch building energy codes are an optional, more stringent building code established by the state that local jurisdictions can adopt to require that newly constructed buildings are more efficient than the baseline state codes.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes
Enacted	Appliance Standards Empty column The Appliance Efficiency Regulations apply to over 70 products. Establishing Policies California Code of Regulations, Title 20, Sections 1601 - 1609 (2019) Appliance Efficiency Regulations - Title 20	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards	2019
Not Enacted	Building Performance Standards Empty column Building performance standards establish energy and/or greenhouse gas performance targets for existing buildings in a state. These targets increase in stringency over time, leading to efficiency improvements in buildings to conserve energy and reduce emissions.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards
Not Enacted	Clean Heat Standards Empty column Clean heat standards establish a performance standard requiring heat providers to deliver a gradually-increasing percentage of low-emission heating services to customers.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards
Enacted	Energy Efficiency Resource Standards (EERS) Empty column Electric utilities are required to achieve savings targets ranging from 1737.3 gigawatt hours (GWh) to 8,482.8 GWh for 2024-2035, depending on the utility. Gas utilities are required to achieve savings targets ranging from 17.1 million metric therms (MMTherms) to 189.3 MMTherms for 2024-2035, depending on the utility. Establishing Policies Rulemaking 13-11-005 (2023) Decision 23-08-005 (2023)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency	2023
Enacted	Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Empty column California has enacted residential and commercial PACE-enabling legislation and has active programs. Establishing Policies AB 811 (2007)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency	2007
Partially Enacted	Weatherization Funding Empty column The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies SPOT - Weatherization Funding in California Policy Components enacted enacted not-enacted enacted 3/4	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency
Enacted	All-Electric Buildings Empty column Phases out natural gas burning furnaces and hot-water heaters in new buildings by 2030 Establishing Policies Strategy for the State Implementation Plan (2022)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Electrification	2022

California

Key Offices & Links

47

15

West

Progress by Policy Area

Climate Governance and Equity

Cross-Sector

Electricity

Buildings and Efficiency

Transportation

Industry, Materials, and Waste Management

Natural and Working Lands

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in California