California continued to be one of the top 50 polluters in the world in 2018—the latest year for which internationally comparable data are available. If the state were a nation, it would have had the 19th-highest level of energy-related carbon emissions in 2018. The state’s total emissions worsened since 2017, when it was the world’s 21^st largest polluter. California also saw a slight dip in terms of energy productivity (GDP relative to energy consumption) ranking 7^th this year, after 4^th last year. The state maintained one of the lowest carbon intensities, falling one place to fourth-lowest in 2018.

California’s standing did improve across most of the per capita metrics from 2017 to 2018. The state’s energy consumption per capita ranking improved from 31^st to 30^th lowest while its electricity consumption per capita ranking improved from 39th to 33rd. The state’s emissions per capita rank (where one is the lowest) advanced one place from 31st to 30^th in 2018. California continued to maintain high rankings for electricity generation from renewable sources (excluding hydroelectric) each year. It had the 11th-highest amount of renewable electricity generated, down two places from ninth compared to 2017. On a consumption adjusted basis, California placed third in 2018—on par with several Western European countries—and ahead of the EU-27 average.