With California's nearly 40 million people and influential technology hub in Silicon Valley, it could be poised to be a key player in terms of mitigating climate change. Over the weekend, nearly 200 nations came away from the latest UN-backed climate talks with an accord that aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions and encourage a transition to more renewable energy sources for both rich and developing nations.

"The rest of the world does look to California as a model," said Sean Hecht, co-director at UCLA's Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. "California, unlike the United States, really does have a binding commitment to reducing emissions, under its landmark law AB32...We also have a set of policies that get us beyond that, and ultimately, we have an aspirational goal to get to 80 percent below our baseline emission levels by the middle of the 21st Century, which is very consistent with the aspirational goals that have been set in Paris."

That could all mean big things for California in the coming years, especially in the area of energy and transportation, said Hecht.