California’s attorney general is sharpening his legal arsenal, vowing to take on both Washington and Wall Street’s energy giants as battles over climate, recycling, and even food intensify.
Rob Bonta, speaking live in Times Square during New York Climate Week, declared that his state will not sit idle while the Trump administration dismantles environmental protections. “Each and every time they violate the law, they hurt my state, my people—we will sue them,” he said, underscoring that California has been filing cases at a blistering pace, often more than one a week.
At the heart of California’s strategy is a fight against a federal agenda that expands fossil fuel interests while mocking climate science. Just a day earlier at the United Nations, Donald Trump branded climate change “the greatest con job in the world,” doubling down on his disdain for renewable energy.
Bonta called the administration’s approach “head-in-the-sand” policymaking, pointing to repeated attempts to erase climate-era rules established under Biden. His office is scrutinizing agency decisions for violations of the Administrative Procedure Act—a legal lever that could keep the courts busy for years.
This week, Bonta co-led a coalition of 23 attorneys general and seven municipalities opposing the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rollback of its landmark 2009 endangerment finding, which underpins federal regulation of greenhouse gases. With the public comment period now closed, the EPA’s final decision later this year could spark yet another high-stakes courtroom showdown.
Asked if California would risk a fight that could ultimately land before a Supreme Court increasingly favorable to Trump, Bonta said his team would act where the facts and law suggest they can win. “Sometimes that does mean going all the way,” he noted.
Exxon’s Day of Reckoning
Beyond federal rollbacks, Bonta’s sights remain fixed on the oil industry. California is weighing new litigation over what he called “the myth of plastic recycling,” adding to a growing portfolio of cases targeting corporate greenwashing.
Last year, California sued Exxon Mobil, accusing the company of a decades-long campaign to mislead consumers about the recyclability of plastics. Exxon, firing back, accused Bonta of defamation and alleged ties to competitors. Bonta brushed aside the counterattack as a stalling tactic—“an attempt to delay judgment day.”
The case remains in its early stages, but Bonta said California’s evidence is strong: “We sued with a lot of investigatory material behind us. We think we’re going to prevail.” Exxon, meanwhile, insists its advanced recycling program has already processed more than 100 million pounds of plastic waste that would otherwise have been burned or buried.
A New Front: Processed Foods
In a striking aside, Bonta flagged ultra-processed foods as another area “of great interest” for his office. These products—ranging from sodas to snack foods—are under fire from health advocates who warn of their addictive qualities and links to obesity. While Bonta did not confirm any investigations, he emphasized that his office follows “the facts and the science” in tackling corporate harm.
From climate to plastics to processed foods, California’s attorney general is signaling a long season of courtroom battles. For industry and policymakers alike, the Golden State is once again positioning itself as ground zero in America’s climate and consumer wars.
