It is a long-held belief among scholars and practitioners that the State of California is a notable subnational leader in environmental and climate change policy. This article focuses primarily on four essential contextual factors that explain why and how within the United States’ federal system of government California has become such an important leader, performing far in excess of the national government and most other states. These essential factors are preferences, authority, capacity, and effectiveness. The article then moves to the multifaceted implementation strategy California policy makers have employed to realize their environmental goals. Finally, despite the history of strong leadership, the state continues to face a host of significant challenges in realizing its ambitious climate change goals for the coming decades.

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美国气候变化和能源政策的州领导：加州经验

学者和从业者长期以来一直认为，加利福尼亚州是环境和气候变化政策方面的显着地方领导者。本文主要关注四个基本背景因素，这些因素解释了加利福尼亚在美国联邦政府系统中为何以及如何成为如此重要的领导者，其表现远远超过中央政府和大多数其他州。这些基本因素是偏好、权威、能力和有效性。然后，文章转向加州政策制定者为实现其环境目标而采用的多方面实施策略。最后，尽管该州拥有强大的领导力，但在实现其未来几十年雄心勃勃的气候变化目标方面，该州继续面临一系列重大挑战。