California‘s Cap-and-Trade Extension Stalls Amidst Intense Lobbying Effort
Negotiations surrounding โฃthe reauthorization of California’s cap-and-trade program faced a significant challenge thisโข week โas a broad coalition of opponents launched a last-minute lobbying push to delay a deal โคuntil 2026.โ Lawmakers were metโข with appeals from industry groups, business advocates, and even traditionallyโ Democratic-alignedโ trade unions as they entered theโค Capitol on Monday, โSeptember 9, 2025.
The opposition โargues that a rushed reauthorization would impose undue financial burdens on industries โlike cement production, oil and gas,โ and manufacturing, potentially driving businesses โout of California โand leading to job losses. They contend that increased costs would inevitably be โฃpassed on to consumers,โข raising prices across the board.
The State Building and Constructionโข Trades Council of California circulated aโฃ notice to legislators stating, “No deal is better than a bad deal,” and advocating for a pause in negotiations until the Legislatureโข reconvenes in 2026. The union specifically warned of “massive industrial job losses” and โ”skyrocketing fuel andโ retail costs” resultingโ from the proposed legislation. They โคexpressed disappointment that the legislature hadn’t collaborated with the Building Trades and the energy โขindustry to create an affordable โextension of the program.
The California Chamberโค of Commerce โechoed these concerns, with president and CEO Jennifer Barrera stating the shortened timeline was insufficient to produce “robust and responsible” legislation.She notedโ that promises regarding California’s affordability โคhad not been met.
While environmental groups like the Environmental Defense Fund โขgenerally support reauthorizingโฃ cap-and-trade, some have expressed frustration with the lackโข of clarity in the negotiation process. Environmentalโค justice advocates, though, believe the surge in lobbying efforts signals that progress was being made โat the negotiating table. Katie Valenzuela, a lobbyist for these โฃgroups, suggested โคthe calls for more public process were disingenuous given the opponents’ established access to lawmakers.
despite theโข opposition, Senator Monique Limรณn (D-Santa Barbara), theโ incoming Senate โpresident, remains optimistic. She โstated that all partiesโ remain at the table and are continuing to work towards a negotiated proposal, leaving the possibility of a deal alive.
Thisโฃ article is based on reporting originallyโ published by CalMatters on September 9, 2025,โค and is republishedโ under aโ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence.
