2025 was California’s big call to action. As wildfires intensified, federal protections were rolled back, and economic pressures mounted, communities across the state demanded bold climate action. But while some meaningful strides were made, progress was uneven—and the California Environmental Voters Scorecard shows that the call for climate justice went to voicemail in 2025.
Each year since 1973, the California Environmental Scorecard has provided a transparent look at how California’s elected leaders voted on key environmental issues.
This blog breaks down the year’s biggest themes, the numbers behind the scores, standout legislators, and the environmental challenges ahead.
Want to explore the full Scorecard?
A Challenging Year for Climate Leadership
2025 was a uniquely challenging year for California legislators facing a slew of hostile federal actions including withheld federal funds for Los Angeles wildfire recovery, revoked Clean Air waivers, and court delays that stalled California’s corporate climate-risk law SB 261 from being implemented. Lawmakers took some major strides with solutions for clean energy, grid reliability, lowering electricity bills, and federal defense against Trump environmental rollbacks. Still, Californians needed our state to act as a bold counterweight to the influence of corporate polluters—and California’s inconsistent progress didn’t always meet the mark.
Because of this, California’s score was a C (78%) for the 2025 California Environmental Scorecard. The state made meaningful strides, but the overall grade reflects a year when political pressure, federal interference, and inconsistent legislative commitment prevented more decisive climate outcomes.
California’s 2025 Environmental Score Highlights
- For the first time ever, less than half of the California legislature accepted oil money.
This is a huge climate victory, because our reporting shows that representatives who refuse oil money score a whopping 4.7 letter grades higher on the environmental scorecard. That’s the difference between an F and an A!
- Your votes in the 2024 election paid off: New representatives are better on climate.
During their first year in office, newly elected officials took less oil money, had higher average scores, and voted more consistently for climate progress.
- California’s battleground regions, the Inland Empire, Central Valley, and Sierras, are still entrenched in oil money.
Every single representative from the Sierras has taken oil money—as have 94% of legislators from the Central Valley and 67% of legislators from the Inland Empire.
- California’s state score is on the decline, but we’re confident we can rise to the challenge.
This year marks the third year in a row of decline, from a peak of 91% in 2022 down to 78% in 2025. Between wildfires, federal rollbacks, and an ongoing affordability crisis, California faced unique challenges this year—but voters are clear that in 2026, we need our leaders to stand firm on their commitment to a healthy, affordable, and resilient California for all.
- About half of the bills we tracked resulted in a pro-environment outcome.
While our two sponsored bills didn’t get the necessary support from lawmakers, there were still plenty of victories on the legislative front. Major energy affordability and biodiversity policies became law this year to lower electricity bills and safeguard our state’s wildlife.
Legislators Who Shaped the Environmental Landscape in 2025
In the 2025 Scorecard, EnviroVoters highlighted lawmakers who stood out in the field of climate and environmental policy—some helping to drive ambitious climate solutions, others working against them.
Climate Action Caucus
In 2025, there were a few standout legislators who rose as major voices on clean energy, air quality, and affordability. Senator Josh Becker stood out for authoring SB 254, a landmark electricity affordability bill capping rates and expanding assistance programs to protect low‑ and middle‑income families. Assemblymember Robert Garcia emerged as one of the year’s strongest newly elected environmental champions, leading a statewide effort to tackle emissions from warehouses and ports through AB 914—an issue especially urgent in regions like the Inland Empire where warehousing deeply impacts air quality. And Assemblymember Cottie Petrie‑Norris advanced AB 825, a policy years in the making to improve energy coordination across Western states, providing Californians with more reliability and access to cleaner, more affordable power.
Polluter Caucus
On the other end were lawmakers who refused to support—and even actively worked against—environmental policies and delayed climate progress. Assemblymember Carl DeMaio embraced Trump-style politics and introduced AB 1238, which would have blocked progress on electric vehicles and appliances, keeping California dependent on fossil fuels. Senator Tim Grayson authored SB 237, a bill fast‑tracking drilling permits in Kern County, at a time when communities faced serious health and cost‑of‑living pressures related to pollution. Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco withheld support for widely backed policies on clean water, endangered species, and offshore drilling restrictions—despite representing a district where constituents consistently support environmental action.
Bright Spots in a Difficult Year
Amid setbacks, several major environmental wins stood out. California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 50, designed to protect democratic processes and support communities affected by climate decisions. The state also played a leading role in a series of multistate legal actions defending clean‑energy projects, such as the successful challenge of clean wind project cancellations in State of New York v. Trump.
Governor Newsom preserved critical air‑quality protections by vetoing SB 34, a bill that would have weakened the state’s ability to enforce clean‑air standards. Meanwhile, the passage of electricity affordability and grid regionalization bills AB 825 and SB 254 proved that California could still tackle major, complex challenges while keeping working people at the forefront. California also advanced important biodiversity protections, strengthening conservation tools through legislation supporting migratory birds, 30×30 goals, and endangered species programs.
Where Environmental Action Fell Short
The Scorecard also highlights key areas where California did not meet the moment. Despite 80% of Californians wanting accountability for polluters, the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act (SB 684/AB 1243) and Affordable Insurance and Climate Recovery Act (SB 222) didn’t get the support or attention from lawmakers that the moment demanded. Other widely supported climate and public‑health bills—such as energy affordability bills and bans on PFAS “forever chemicals” and microplastics—were vetoed. And the state used $1 billion from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to backfill the general fund, reducing California’s ability to address escalating climate threats and slashing critical investments in climate progress.
State agencies like the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and California Energy Commission (CEC) also faced major delays. Implementation of the plastic‑pollution reduction law SB 54 was delayed, corporate accountability and risk law SB 261 was stalled in court, price‑gouging rules under SB 905 were postponed, and carbon‑capture regulations remain incomplete. The California Air Resources Board pushed SB 253’s climate‑disclosure timeline back to 2026. And at the federal level, California’s clean‑transportation EPA waivers for electric cars and trucks were illegally revoked by the Trump Administration.
California should have been better prepared for this year’s refinery closures. The state’s ability to hold polluters accountable and protect community health was undercut by the advancement of SB 237, a bill that expands oil drilling in Kern County without adequate health protections for communities and workers. Our legislators missed an opportunity to better plan for this transition and invest in clean transportation so Californians aren’t held hostage by the oil industry.
What Californians Want in 2026
Recent polling from the California Environmental Voters Education Fund shows that California voters want lawmakers to prioritize:
- Affordability & Corporate Accountability: Californians know what’s driving the affordability crisis: extreme weather fueled by climate change, which in turn drives up the cost of insurance, energy, and groceries. It’s time to make corporate polluters pay their fair share for the damage they’re doing to our communities. (80% of voters agree)
- Conserving Land, Water & Biodiversity: As the federal government dismantles core environmental protections and biodiversity faces unprecedented pressure, California has to double down on defense. (80% of voters agree)
- Clean Transportation & Public Transit: Financing and advancing clean transportation and transit in the wake of the federal government’s illegal revoking of California’s Clean Air Waivers will protect Californians from corporate greed and health impacts. (69% of voters agree)
- Accelerating Clean Energy: We must transition from dirty fossil fuels and ensure that communities have access to the air quality and affordability provided by clean energy in a way that supports workers and economic resilience. (68% of voters agree)
How the 2025 Score Was Calculated
The 2025 California Environmental Score
To calculate the California score on the 2025 California Environmental Scorecard, EnviroVoters evaluated:
- 97 environmental bills
- 43 pro‑environment outcomes
- Weighted scoring for top‑priority bills
- Major pro‑environment and anti‑environment actions
California State Legislature Scores for 2025
To calculate individual scores for legislators on the 2025 California Environmental Scorecard, EnviroVoters evaluated:
- Environmental votes on Scorecard bills
- Authoring or co-authoring a Scorecard bill
- Extra credit for major pro‑environment and anti‑environment actions
- Oil money acceptance in the last six years
Some legislators, like the Governor, Senate Pro Tempore, and Assembly Speaker were scored on additional factors like the California score and caucus averages.
For the first time ever, EnviroVoters also scored legislative committees based on their actions in 2025. These committees are critical in making sure whether bills pass or fail in the legislative cycle, and this gives voters visibility on legislator actions within committees for better accountability.
Explore the Full California Environmental Voters Scorecard
The Scorecard isn’t just an education tool; it’s a tool for action. Take a moment to check out your representatives’ grades and find out if they’re leading the charge on climate action—or holding us back. As their constituent, you have the power to hold your representatives accountable for making climate progress on your behalf.
👉 Find Your Legislator
👉 See the Full California Score Breakdown
👉 Learn How the Scorecard Works
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Now you can find out with our 2025 California Environmental Scorecard! Use it to see how California’s leadership scored, how many legislators take dirty oil money, and much more.
