Climate 411

California regulators prioritize keeping electric bills affordable over increasing utility shareholder profits

By Michael Colvin / Published: December 4, 2025

Energy bills have been on the rise across the nation — and California is no different. A recent study highlights a variety of factors impacting Californians electric costs, including increased costs to harden the system from wildfires and more investments in fixed-capital infrastructure.

Fortunately, energy regulators in California are poised to take two steps to address energy bill affordability, while still protecting the environment. The first is a critical decision on how energy utilities structure their profits, known as the “cost of capital”, and the second is a new set of rules focused on how California measures the affordability of utility services. 

EDF projects that, by bringing shareholder profits in check, these actions could result in over $300 million in annual savings for Californians.

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Posted in California, Cities and states, Economics, Energy, News, Policy / Authors: / Comments are closed

California’s latest cap-and-invest auction highlights opportunity for stronger climate action

By Caroline Jones and Katelyn Roedner Sutter / Published: November 26, 2025

Photo of the coastline in Malibu, California

Results released today for the California-Quebec cap-and-invest auction demonstrate that, while California’s reauthorization of the program through 2045 has helped keep prices off the floor, there’s clear appetite for greater ambition as California Air Resources Board (CARB) resumes its rulemaking process on program updates. The auction delivered largely stable results, with current vintages settling at a slightly lower price compared to the August auction while future vintages settled slightly higher. All current and future vintage allowances sold.

While these results demonstrate continued but modest improvement in market confidence (for context, uncertainty in the market cost California some $3 billion over the past year), they also show that there’s room for greater program ambition. The market can afford for CARB to do more to maximize the benefits of this landmark program for the state’s economy, cost of living and climate through the rulemaking process.

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Posted in California, Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, News, Policy / Authors: , / Comments are closed

New York doesn’t need to choose between climate action and affordability

By Kate Courtin and Nora Goodman / Published: November 25, 2025

A New York court recently found the Hochul administration to be in violation of its climate law for failing to put in place regulations that would achieve the state’s emissions limits. Just days after the court’s ruling, Governor Kathy Hochul signaled her intent to appeal, citing affordability concerns as the primary impediment to advancing the state’s climate goals.

But robust evidence in New York and experience from other states shows that the choice between climate action and affordability is a false one. By moving forward with cap-and-invest — a powerful and flexible policy tool — Governor Hochul can deliver on both.

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Posted in California, Carbon Markets, Cities and states, News, Policy / Authors: , / Comments are closed

California Can Lead the Next Generation of Clean, Affordable Cars – Again

By Ryland Shengzhi Li / Published: November 24, 2025

Photograph by Pierre Jeanneret

California has long led the way on standards and policies that advance clean, affordable vehicles. As the federal government threatens to roll back national vehicle climate protections, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is charting a path forward with its Drive Forward light-duty vehicle standards – a program that can deliver cleaner air, stronger climate action, and more affordable options for drivers. Last week, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) submitted comments urging CARB to move boldly and swiftly.

Stronger Standards to Protect Health, Cut Climate Pollution, and Expand Choice

EDF strongly supports CARB’s interest in next-generation, performance-based standards for greenhouse gases and tailpipe pollutants such as non-methane organic gases (NMOG) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx). NMOG and NOx contribute directly to smog and fine-particulate pollution that can harm lung development, worsen asthma and cardiovascular disease, and even increase the rate of premature deaths. Greenhouse gas pollution drives climate-fueled extreme weather that threatens public health and welfare.

Californians deserve cleaner air – verified both in laboratories and on real roads under real conditions. For instance, some vehicles still produce sharp emission spikes during uphill driving or in colder temperatures. We support CARB’s exploration of provisions to ensure emissions controls deliver their promised benefits throughout a vehicle’s useful life and under real-word conditions – on LA streets or Central Valley highways, in summer heatwaves or on cold winter mornings. Closing these real-world gaps is essential.

Next-generation standards can drive major pollution cuts while giving manufacturers multiple compliance pathways: electric vehicles, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, or lower-polluting internal-combustion engines. These cleaner options often cost less to fuel and maintain, saving drivers hundreds of dollars each year. Bottom line: Californians get cleaner air and more choices – and California continues setting a model others can freely adopt.

Near-Term Gains Matter – Early Action Can Deliver Them

We also support CARB’s interest in starting new standards as soon as possible, paired with meaningful incentives for manufacturers to take early action on delivering cleaner cars even more immediately. For example, accelerating cleaner models before 2030 would cut smog-forming pollution during the state’s worst ozone seasons – especially in the Central Valley and South Coast, which suffer from the nation’s most persistent ozone pollution year after year. Early reductions are essential for meeting health-based air quality standards and reducing smog and soot in communities that need relief now.

A Chance to Cut Air Pollution with Proven Technology

EDF urges CARB to strengthen its tailpipe particulate matter (PM) standard by aligning with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) most protective emissions requirements. Gasoline particulate filters are already widespread globally, including on many U.S.-made vehicles. Adopting this standard would rapidly cut harmful PM pollution using affordable, off-the-shelf solutions. This is a low-cost, high-impact solution that will cut pollution and save lives.

Empowering Consumers with Better Information

With zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) representing more than a quarter of all new vehicle sales in California, a new CARB-designed EV window label could boost sales by enhancing how Californians understand their affordability benefits. An EV label showing a typical driver could save $6,000 on fuel and maintenance over the vehicle’s lifetime, for instance, would give shoppers practical, relatable information at a glance. We encourage CARB to ground its label design in empirical research and consider including information about pocketbook savings, reductions in smog-forming and soot pollution, and real-world driving ranges, charging speeds, and battery durability. A well-designed label can cut through confusion and help drivers make informed choices.

Moving Forward

California’s leadership is indispensable – for the state, for partner states, and for everyone who benefits from cleaner air, a safer climate, and meaningful cost savings. CARB’s Drive Forward program can deliver durable, flexible, and protective standards that rise to this moment and lower costs for Californians – through reduced fuel and maintenance bills and lower electricity costs. EDF looks forward to continued engagement as the rulemaking progresses.

Posted in California, Cars and Pollution, News / Authors: / Comments are closed

Overturning the Endangerment Finding would mean more pollution, more harm, higher costs

By Peter Zalzal / Published: November 24, 2025

You may have seen the new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research – or, more likely, the New York Times story about it – that shows American homeowners are facing substantial and rapidly-rising home insurance premiums due to harms from climate-fueled extreme weather events.

The New York Times story, which includes state-by-state analysis, finds that rising premiums are placing severe financial burdens on Americans – doubling home insurance costs in some areas over the last several years, lowering home values by tens of thousands of dollars, and making it impossible for some Americans to purchase insurance at all.

This new reporting adds to a large and growing body of evidence showing that climate change is straining insurance, housing, and banking systems, and in turn posing financial risks to communities across the country.

At the same time Americans are facing these extensive and rising costs, the Trump administration has proposed to rescind EPA’s foundational Endangerment Finding – the bedrock determination that climate pollution harms public health and welfare – along with all of the climate pollution standards for motor vehicles that EPA has ever adopted. These reckless and deeply damaging actions will mean more pollution that is fueling extreme weather events, and thus even higher costs for Americans who are already facing runaway increases in home insurance premiums.

More pollution, more harm, higher costs

EDF’s analysis found that the Trump EPA’s proposed repeal of the Endangerment Finding and motor vehicle standards would result in as much as 18 billion more tons of climate-altering pollution as the cumulative emissions released mount over time. That’s the equivalent of three times the annual U.S. emissions today and would impose up to $3.9 trillion in climate harms on society.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans filed comments with EPA expressing strong opposition to the administration’s proposal to rescind the Endangerment Finding and the motor vehicle standards. Many of those comments underscored how it would only worsen the already high costs they are now suffering — including by raising insurance premiums.

Local, state, and federal elected representatives echoed their constituents’ concerns:

  • The U.S. Conference of Mayors and National League of Cities described how the extreme weather events are pushing up insurance premiums and contributing to falling home values.
  • The Mayor of Tacoma, Washington stated, “[the administration’s proposal] would lead to higher property and health insurance premiums that endanger the financial stability and health of families working day in and day out to achieve better outcomes.”
  • Eight members of Florida’s Congressional delegation similarly stated, “Thousands of Florida homeowners have seen their premiums double or triple in recent years. Climate risk is driving insurance companies to raise rates or withdraw from the state entirely – seven Florida insurers became insolvent between January 2022 and February 2023, disproportionately harming homeowners who are already struggling to make ends meet.”

The administration’s proposal will impose other significant costs on Americans

Rising insurance premiums and other extensive costs from climate-fueled extreme weather events are just one of the ways the administration’s proposal will make life more expensive for Americans.

It will also:

  • Raise gas prices – The Trump administration’s own analysis shows that the proposal will make gas more expensive, increasing gas prices by 25 cents per gallon in 2035 and 76 cents per gallon in 2050. The proposal will force Americans to spend up to $1.7 trillion more on gas.
  • Result in job losses: The administration’s Annual Energy Outlook analysis shows that repealing the Endangerment Finding and vehicle standards will cost 450,000 jobs across the nation by 2035. Those job losses have already begun to materialize as the administration has increased its attacks on clean energy and clean vehicles. EDF released a report last week documenting $25 billion in cancelled clean energy manufacturing investments thus far in 2025, with a loss of more than 34,000 anticipated jobs. In October alone, $3.9 billion in clean energy manufacturing projects were canceled and 6,700 anticipated jobs were lost.
  • Increase air pollution, harming health: The administration’s proposal would increase smog and soot-forming pollution that would lead to as many as 77,000 early deaths and 52 million more asthma attacks — health harms that would cost the nation as much as $260 billion.

If Trump EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin moves forward with this dangerous action, it would put more deadly pollution in our air and hit Americans in their pocketbooks with higher insurance, gas and healthcare costs. Overturning the Endangerment Finding and the motor vehicle standards would put millions of people in harm’s way.

Posted in Cars and Pollution, Clean Air Act, Economics, Jobs, News, Policy / Authors: / Comments are closed