Platform: Meg Whitman

On the campaign trail, Whitman has advocated removing or reducing existing environmental protections, based on her view that “overreaching environmental regulations” put California at “an economic disadvantage to our neighboring states” (as reported in the San Francisco Chronicle). She has stated that, if she were elected governor, she would immediately issue an executive order to suspend AB 32, the 2006 California law that reduces greenhouse gas emissions. She would do that, she says, in order to prevent higher energy costs and to allow more coordination with the federal government’s pending climate legislation.

Whitman also advocates reforming the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the state’s bedrock environmental protection, to “remov[e] duplicate reviews by multiple agencies” and “discourage wild interpretations and frivolous lawsuits.”

Among the stated positions on her campaign website, Whitman states that she believes California should be at the center of the global “green” economy, which will strengthen California’s own economy. Specifically, she advocates “applying balance and common sense,” using tax incentives, streamlining permitting, and lowering taxes.

On energy, Whitman proposes “diversifying our energy sources” to include more use of nuclear, biomass, wind and solar power. She believes California should modernize infrastructure to distribute energy more economically and efficiently. She also would “[d]emand that any federal greenhouse gas or other environmental regulations recognize the energy efficiency gains made by our state, so we get a fair baseline for any new laws and are not penalized for environmental progress.”