California & the West

Devastating wildfires. Enormous floods. Sweltering heat, and lack of clean water.

The western United States is no stranger to climate change. In fact, it’s home to some of global warming’s most severe impacts—and they’re only getting worse.

But the West is also home to some of the most progressive climate policies in the world. From low-carbon fuel rules and electric vehicle requirements, to clean energy standards, to recognizing a human right to water, western states are demonstrating how to constructively respond to climate change and how to prevent its worst impacts.

In an era of unprecedented federal challenges to climate progress, states—with California at the fore—can and must lead the way.

For decades, the Western States Program of the Union of Concerned Scientists has advocated for replicable policies to prevent further warming and adapt to warming already underway. We’re now demonstrating how to move from a dirty, extractive economy to a clean and equitable one, recognizing that policies won’t work if they ignore the communities most affected by climate change.

We’re also focused on the science. That’s what we’re bringing to Sacramento and beyond: the facts of global warming, the impacts, and the solutions. Not the partisanship.

You can help. Visit our action center or consider donating. This is a fight we all need to join.

West Coast office
2001 Addison Street, Suite 200
Berkeley, CA 94704
Phone: (510) 843-1872