Energy and Environment

Alex is determined to fight the existential threat of climate change. Having grown up in a low-income, heavily polluted neighborhood, he is dedicated to ensuring that every family has access to clean air and clean water. He served for six years as Chair of the California State Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications, where he led the development of California’s ambitious renewable energy and climate policies that now serve as a model for the rest of the country. Alex’s environmental leadership has continued in the U.S. Senate. In addition to cosponsoring the Green New Deal, Alex introduced sweeping legislation to electrify our nation’s school buses and protect over one million acres of public lands in California, increasing access to nature and preserving California’s natural treasures for generations to come.

Alex understands the threat that increasingly frequent and catastrophic natural disasters and extreme weather events pose to California and the Western United States. That’s why he fought to secure millions of dollars in federal funding for flood control infrastructure to protect communities from catastrophic floods and rising sea levels. His bill the POWER ON Act was signed into law by President Biden to prevent utility outages caused by natural disasters like wildfires and other extreme weather events. And while California continues to face the threat of devastating wildfires, Alex led the successful passage of the FIRE Act, to modernize the way FEMA prepares for and responds to wildfires.

Recent News

All Aboard Act dedicates $200 billion over five years to build transportation system of the future WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) joined Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Representative Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.-17) in introducing the All Aboard...
Senators: “The safety and lives of millions of Americans as well as the economic success of California depend on weather forecasts from the state’s NWS offices.” WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) demanded the Trump...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, on the heels of another harsh heat wave across California, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Representative Judy Chu (D-Calif.-28) joined union workers from the United Farm Workers (UFW), American Federation of State, County and Municipal...
All Aboard Act dedicates $200 billion over five years to build transportation system of the future WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) joined Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Representative Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.-17) in introducing the All Aboard...
Senators: “The safety and lives of millions of Americans as well as the economic success of California depend on weather forecasts from the state’s NWS offices.” WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) demanded the Trump...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, on the heels of another harsh heat wave across California, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Representative Judy Chu (D-Calif.-28) joined union workers from the United Farm Workers (UFW), American Federation of State, County and Municipal...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Wildfire Caucus, pressed U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz on President Trump’s elimination of all funding for...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, introduced a pair of bills to reduce dangerous air pollution within the shipping industry. Padilla’s Clean Shipping Act of 2025,...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), along with Representatives Juan Vargas (D-Calif.-52) and Scott Peters (D-Calif.-50), introduced bicameral legislation to help combat the ongoing Tijuana River sewage pollution crisis across the U.S.-Mexico border....
LOS ANGELES, CA — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Wildfire Caucus, joined Governor Gavin Newsom, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and federal, state, and local leaders to recognize the six-month anniversary of the devastating firestorms...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) joined a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing to question Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on President Trump’s America-last budget bill that would decimate the renewable energy economy, hamper American...
Senators Padilla and Schiff: “These unlawful terminations represent a significant setback for American energy independence, and they undermine California and America’s leadership in the globally competitive clean energy industry.” “These grants were provided through legally binding contract agreements between recipients...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — After Republicans shortsightedly revoked California’s clean air waivers last month, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, spoke on...