Newsom and Schwarzenegger mark 20 years of California climate law at Long Beach summit

Mixed · 2Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, and Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, appeared together on Wednesday 14 October at the 2026 California Economic Summit in Long Beach to mark the 20th anniversary of the California Global Warming Solutions Act (Assembly Bill 32), which Schwarzenegger signed in 2006. 1 2 Mixed · 2The law required California to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The Los Angeles Times reports the state met that target four years ahead of schedule, and the New York Post says the state reports achieving it ahead of schedule. 1 2 Left · 1Schwarzenegger said California shows what can be done when people work together rather than treating climate as a partisan issue, and said the law had significantly reduced emissions while creating more than half a million clean-energy jobs. 2

Right · 1He also said he pushed the law through despite resistance from the Bush administration, saying "The federal government fought us, and every step of the way, and we went to court." 1 Left · 1Newsom said the state had met "audacious" goals and cited 39,000 megawatts of clean energy installed in the last seven years, 23,000 megawatts of battery storage and no flex alert in four years. He called the clean energy transition "the most critical national security issue in the United States of America" as China surpasses the U.S. in electric vehicles, clean-energy manufacturing and renewables. 2 Mixed · 2Newsom said California acts "in the absence of federal responsibility" and criticised the Trump administration's "vandalism" of state efforts. Both men credited Republican President Richard Nixon with creating the Environmental Protection Agency and signing the Endangered Species Act; the Post adds the Clean Water Act. 1 2

Mixed · 2The Los Angeles Times reports the two praised each other and hugged at the end, and that Schwarzenegger joked about Republicans objecting to Democrats in his administration, including a crude remark about his former wife, Maria Shriver. The Post quotes Schwarzenegger saying of the Bush administration, "we knew that they were full of s–t." 2 1 Left · 1On the law's record, the Los Angeles Times says recent analyses indicate California is not on track to meet its future targets of 40% cuts by 2030 and 85% by 2045. It also says the law led to the cap-and-invest carbon market launched in 2013, which the Legislature extended to 2045 last year, and that the state is starting to link it with Washington state's market. 2 Right · 1The Post adds context on federal opposition: President Trump repealed the EPA's 2009 "Endangerment Finding", and California and other states sued. It says a federal judge this year stopped an attempt to revoke the state's Clean Air Act vehicle-emission waivers, though legal and legislative attacks continue. It also reports critics say the Act gives regulators too much power and lets rich companies pollute through cap-and-trade. 1

Mixed · 2The Los Angeles Times says the event and a luncheon in Santa Monica the day before were rare displays of bipartisan unity amid polarisation. Attendees included former Gov. Gray Davis, Tom Steyer, former Assembly Speaker Fabien Nunez and former state Sen. Fran Pavley. The Post notes Schwarzenegger has not endorsed in the California governor's race or the Los Angeles mayoral race. 2 1