ALEJANDRO LAZO/CalMatters

CalMatters
California sets aside $170 million to thin vegetation, forests to help prevent wildfires
California has already experienced its second most destructive fire year on record, with more than 16,000 homes and other buildings damaged or destroyed by the two major fires in the Los Angeles area. Most of the destruction occurred in neighborhoods where development meets wildland, a high-risk are
 
Oil company fined record $18 million for defying state orders to stop work on pipeline
The vote sets the stage for a potentially high-stakes test of the state’s power to police oil development along the coast. The onshore pipeline in Gaviota gushed more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil onto coastal land and ocean waters, shutting down fisheries, closing beaches and harming marine lif
 
California’s controversial new fuel rules rejected by state legal office
The rules were rejected by the state Office of Administrative Law, a state agency whose mandate is to ensure “regulations are clear, necessary, legally valid, and available to the public.” The law office informed the air board that the rule does not conform with a provision in state code that requir
 
California’s surge in EV sales has stalled — so what happens to its landmark mandate?
About a quarter — 25.3% — of all new cars registered in California in 2024 were zero emissions, just slightly more than 25% in 2023, according to new California Energy Commission data. The flat sales follow several years of rapid growth — in 2020, only one in 13 cars sold was zero-emissions. Their s
 
Californians pay billions for power companies’ wildfire prevention efforts. Are they cost-effective?
Diane Moss lost her home in the Santa Monica Mountains after power lines ignited the apocalyptic Woolsey Fire in 2018.
 
California’s plan to overhaul a key climate program — raising the cost of gas — ignites debate
The program, which has existed since 2011, is a $2-billion credit trading system that requires fuels sold in California to become progressively cleaner, while giving companies financial incentives to produce less-polluting fuels, such as biofuels made from soybeans or cow manure. The standard has he
 
First California project to bury climate-warming gases wins key approval
The Carbon Terra Vault project is part of a broader bid by the oil and gas industry to remain viable in a state that is attempting to decarbonize. Although the company still faces additional steps, the county approval is a key development that advances the project.
 
California hits milestones toward 100% clean energy — but has a long way to go
The state recently hit a milestone: 100 days this year with 100% carbon-free, renewable electricity for at least a part of each day, as tracked by Stanford University engineering Professor Mark Z. Jacobson.
 
California needs a million EV charging stations — but that’s ‘unlikely’ and ‘unrealistic’
A million public chargers are needed in California by the end of 2030, according to the state’s projections — almost 10 times more than the number available to drivers in December. To meet that target, 129,000 new stations — more than seven times the current pace — must be built every year for the n