California’s Environmental Policy Leadership

California is a long-standing role leader in environmental regulation in the United States. Wilderness preservation and restrictions on coastal oil drilling began in California, as did the regulation of pollution from automobiles. More recently, California has played a prominent role in addressing the risks of global climate change through its programs promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy and its restrictions on greenhouse emissions from motor vehicles. The state has also been highly active in regulating chemicals. Many of California’s environmental regulations have been adopted by other states as well as by the federal government. However, because the United States is a federal system, its regulations have also brought the state into frequent conflict with the Trump administration.