Governor Newsom responds to latest Trump sledgehammer to clean air protections

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today responded to the latest efforts by the Trump administration to deny decades of scientific research and turn back the clock on life-saving policies that protect public health.

The U.S. EPA announced they are rolling back decades-old emissions standards for cars and trucks and proposing new rules that reverse the “endangerment finding.” This is the basis for federal actions to curb planet-warming emissions of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide and methane. They also announced plans to shut down a key scientific research office.

As Co-Chair of the U.S. Climate Alliance, Governor Newsom issued the following statement with Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers.

“Americans deserve the truth from their federal government about the climate crisis. No amount of burying research or firing scientists will change the facts: Greenhouse gas pollution causes climate change and endangers our health and welfare — period.

From devastating floods to extreme heat to catastrophic wildfire, Americans are seeing the deadly impacts of climate change with their own eyes and we won’t be deceived by the Trump administration’s reckless abandonment of science and the law.”

California is taking action to protect against harmful climate pollutants, including methane. Earlier this year, the state launched a satellite project to detect and reduce dangerous methane leaks.

California’s climate leadership

Pollution is down and the economy is up. Greenhouse gas emissions in California are down 20% since 2000 – even as the state’s GDP increased 78% in that same time period.

The state also continues to set clean energy records. California was powered by two-thirds clean energy in 2023, the latest year for which data is available – the largest economy in the world to achieve this level of clean energy. The state has run on 100% clean electricity for some part of the day almost every day this year.

Since the beginning of the Newsom Administration, battery storage is up to over 15,000 megawatts – a 1,900%+ increase, and over 25,000 megawatts of new resources have been added to the electric grid.