Across the world, people are taking action to slow global warming by reducing greenhouse gases. California and 26 other states have ambitious targets and regulations to reduce greenhouse gases.

Although California has a number of regulations and policies aimed at making vehicles more efficient and cleaner, the Low Carbon Fuel Standard is the first to look at the carbon content of the fuel. The first step of this regulation was to develop protocols for measuring the "life-cycle carbon intensityA measure of the amount of carbon contained in various energy forms. (units of carbon emitted per unit of energy)" of transportation fuels. The results of this may cause California’s State Implementation Plan for alternative fuels (AB 1007) to shift as we better understand the carbon impact of biofuels, blended gasoline and grid electricity. Often called the “Pavely Regulation” for its author Fran Pavely, 16 other states have adopted the same standard.

In 1999, California adopted a regulation called Clean Fuels Outlet. The regulation applies to owners of large numbers of fueling stations and requires them to supply alternative fuels when cumulative vehicle numbers read 20,000. Originally, the regulation was designed to address methanol and CNGCompressed Natural Gas. In late-2009, the California Air Resources Board will review the appropriateness of the regulation for hydrogen stations, and in late-2010 will update the regulation as needed.