Growing Crops in a Changing Climate

If left unchecked, global warming will pose serious challenges for agriculture. Rising temperatures, decreased snowpack, and potential changes in rainfall patterns are expected to influence the selection of California crops and how these crops are grown. To help avert the detrimental effects if global warming on California’s largest industries, including agriculture, the state legislature passed and Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law the Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32) in 2006. The law requires the state to reduce its global warming pollution to 1990 levels by 2020—a reduction of approximately 29 percent.