California is a beacon of hope for those in the climate-change-is-real category (and for those who want to see America continue to lead the world in innovation and environmental protection). And… let us not forget that some formidable American environmental accomplishments came at the hands of Republicans. “Everyone talks about red states and blue states,” said Hal Harvey, CEO of Energy Innovation, a San Francisco-based policy research group. “We really have to start talking about green states and brown states.”

As President Trump retreats from the nation’s previous path on environmental policy, Brown has the distinction of being America’s unofficial ambassador on climate change. “The reference point for China is not Washington, it’s California,” said Hal Harvey, who runs energy and environmental think tank Energy Innovation. “They would rather learn from California than any other jurisdiction.”

In this interview, Busch discusses the results from the recent California allowance auction and the future of the state’s cap-and-trade program. “The selling of the full amount of current vintage allowances that were offered was the outstanding feature of the results… The price floor has had a significant effect in rebalancing supply and demand. I would say it is safe to assume we are not going to see a return to the very low sales of the last year.”

Suniva and SolarWorld want the government to take action against foreign companies — primarily Chinese companies — they say are exporting too many solar panel parts to the U.S.. Most likely, that action would be tariffs, which would in turn raise the prices of solar for businesses and homeowners.

California’s market-based program for fighting climate change had struggled badly over the past year. On Wednesday, it bounced back sharply. “It’s a validation of the overall program,” said Chris Busch, who tracks the California carbon market for San Francisco think tank Energy Innovation.

State regulators announced strong results from California’s cap-and-trade program on Wednesday. That’s a shift from other recent auctions, where most of the permits went unsold. But rules governing how the market for permits operates are helping to stabilize the system, said Chris Busch, research director at Energy Innovation. He called it “a triumph of policy design.”

Demand for California pollution permits rebounded in the first quarterly auction since an appeals court upheld the program. The California Air Resources Board reported that it sold out of permits to release greenhouse gases during 2017 or later. The demand exceeded the total supply for the first time since 2015, pushing prices above the minimum.

California’s latest carbon allowance auction could be up to 80% subscribed, a pair of analysts predicted, bucking the trend of weak bidder demand seen for much of the past year.

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) is going to China early next month to drum up support for climate and clean energy policies as well as general trade cooperation. “We should expect to see more action this year,” said Chris Busch, research director with advisory firm Energy Innovation, who was in Beijing in March with Stanford University economist Larry Goulder. “[China’s] looking at this as an opportunity for international leadership…”

California governor Jerry Brown (D) says there is a “very good chance” state lawmakers will pass legislation next month to extend the state’s greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program. Now is the right time for Brown to make a strong push, according to Chris Busch, research director at the clean energy advisory firm Energy Innovation.