California seeks to build on federal climate advances

The Biden administration is ramping up federal climate action after this month’s watershed legislation, but California is showing no signs of surrendering its position leading on the issue.

Two months ago, the Biden administration’s efforts to pass a sweeping climate bill seemed doomed to failure, and much of the momentum was relegated to the state level, fueling presidential chatter about Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). Now, with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, California is once again poised to take sweeping steps on climate, albeit this time against the backdrop of a newly empowered White House.