Former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom appeared together on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, in a rare bipartisan display to celebrate the 20th anniversary of California’s landmark climate legislation, Assembly Bill 32. While the leaders traded praise and hugged at an economic conference in Long Beach, pointing to significant greenhouse gas reductions and more than half a million clean-energy jobs created, a sharp contrast remains between past accomplishments and future trajectories.
The state successfully met its initial target to return emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 four years ahead of schedule, alongside recent installations of 39,000 megawatts of clean energy and 23,000 megawatts of battery storage. Yet, recent analyses indicate that California is not currently on track to meet its future targets of cutting emissions by 40% by 2030 and 85% by 2045.
Milestones and Bipartisan Unity
The Wednesday event and a preceding luncheon in Santa Monica brought together figures from across the political spectrum. Schwarzenegger emphasized that California is the perfect example of what can be done when people work together and when we don’t look at this as a Republican or as a Democratic issue,
noting that the state’s policies have served as a model globally.
Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gov. Gavin Newsom joined forces Wednesday in Long Beach to celebrate 20 years of California’s controversial climate laws. https://t.co/LOViJbqFZi pic.twitter.com/X4b1C8yCB0
Newsom highlighted operational successes, noting that no flex alert has been issued in the state in four years. Describing the clean energy transition as the most critical national security issue in the United States of America,
Newsom stressed that economic and supply chain leadership are at stake as China surpasses the U.S. in electric vehicles, clean-energy manufacturing, and renewable deployment.
Future Climate Targets Still Uncertain
The landmark 2006 legislation also laid the groundwork for California’s cap-and-invest carbon market, which launched in 2013 and was extended by the Legislature to 2045 last year. The state is currently initiating the process of linking its carbon market with Washington state.
Despite these ongoing policy expansions and the celebration of past milestones, it remains unknown how the state plans to bridge the gap in its upcoming climate goals, as recent analyses show California falling short of the aggressive 2030 and 2045 emission-reduction benchmarks.
