Climate Policy Engagement Overview: The California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) is highly engaged with California climate policy, taking firmly negative positions on a number of different climate policy strands. The group has consistently lobbied to weaken or block climate legislation and publishes an annual list of “job killer” bills that it opposes, including bills aiming to increase California’s GHG emissions reduction target. CalChamber has also joined the US Chamber in engagements on federal climate policy, including recent opposition to the Biden administration’s pause on pending liquified natural gas (LNG) export permits.

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: CalChamber appears to have limited top-line messaging on climate policy, despite its high levels of engagement on specific climate proposals. The group appears to advocate for market-based and technology-neutral climate policies, as suggested by its May 2022 press release on the draft California climate plan. This preference for a market-based response to climate change over government regulation was similarly articulated by CalChamber CEO Jennifer Barrera, according to a January 2022 article by The Bakersfield Californian. In September 2022, a New York Times article reported on the CalChamber’s opposition to several climate proposals introduced in the California legislature.

Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: CalChamber has been a consistent opponent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards and targets in California, often characterizing proposed policies as unnecessary. In a March 2023 coalition letter to the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality, CalChamber opposed Senate Bill 12, which would raise the state’s GHG emissions reduction target to 55% below 1990 levels by 2030. Similarly, in August 2022, the group opposed the previous iteration of the same bill in another coalition letter. During the 2021 legislative session, CalChamber registered in opposition to the California Climate Crisis Act, which would have set a GHG emissions reduction target of at least 90% below 1990s levels by 2045, and signed a March 2021 joint letter condemned Senate Bill 261’s emissions reductions targets for automobiles and light-duty trucks. Although CalChamber has maintained broad support for cap and trade over the years, the group opposed Assembly Bill 9 in a May 2023 joint letter to the Assembly Floor, opposing the legislation’s proposed amendments to the cap-and-trade program and stating that the program is “functioning as intended.”

Positioning on Energy Transition: CalChamber has been actively engaged in opposing a range of policies in California and at the federal level that are aimed at transitioning the energy mix. In California, in June 2022 comments to the state Air Resources Board, the group advocated for increased oil production and less ambitious decarbonization pathways. CalChamber also opposed multiple pieces of legislation related to the energy mix, including by signing a January 2024 joint floor alert against Assembly Bill 1550’s proposed hourly matching and additionality requirements around hydrogen production, as well as an August 2022 coalition letter in opposition to Senate Bill 1137, which would limit oil and gas production in proximity to vulnerable communities. The previous month, the group published a press release against Proposition 30, which would levy a tax on high-income earners in the state to fund electric vehicles. In April 2021, CalChamber opposed Senate Bill 467 on banning new and renewed permits for certain oil and fracking methods by 2022, stating in a letter to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water that the bill is an “almost complete shutdown of in-state oil and gas production on an arbitrary timeline.” Still, CalChamber has demonstrated some instances of positive engagement on the energy transition. The group expressed support for Senate Bill 301, which would encourage zero-emissions vehicle production, on its policy tracking website accessed in June 2023. Similarly, the group supported Assembly Bill 914, which would expedite clean energy projects in the state through permitting reform, in April 2023 comments to members of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

CalChamber has taken negative positions on the energy transition at the federal level, especially via joint letters with by the US Chamber. For example, in a March 2024 joint chambers of commerce coalition letter to US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, CalChamber called for the Biden administration to reverse its decision to pause pending LNG export applications.

InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q2 2024.