Adrian Martinez

Director of Right to Zero

California Office

Adrian stands outdoors, wearing a dark-colored zip-up jacket and khaki slacks and looking directly at the viewer with a slight smile. His hands are in his pockets. The skyscrapers of the the Los Angeles skyline are visible behind him. The sun is shining on the buildings.

Bar Admissions

CA

Adrian Martinez

Director of Right to Zero California Office

Media Inquiries

Zoe Woodcraft
Public Affairs and Communications Officer
zwoodcraft@earthjustice.org

Based in Los Angeles, Adrian Martinez is the Director of Earthjustice’s Right To Zero campaign. The role guides and supports electrification work across the organization. He also serves as the Chair of Earthjustice’s Transportation Practice Group.

From pita ovens to postal trucks to water heaters, Adrian has never seen a piece of equipment he did not want to clean up. He litigates cases in state and federal court, in addition to handling matters and advocacy before many agencies. Adrian currently serves on San Pedro Bay Ports Sustainable Supply Chain Advisory Committee and previously served on the California Public Utilities Commission and California Energy Commission Disadvantaged Communities Advisory Committee.

Adrian has been a leader in advancing zero-emissions transportation and clean air policies for more than two decades. He has successfully advocated for local, regional, and state agencies to pursue zero-emissions technologies. He worked with community groups and other environmental groups to secure more than a billion dollars in authorized investments in zero-emissions transportation infrastructure in California through the Public Utilities Commission. He also has been very active in advancing zero-emission buses, trucks, and cargo equipment in Southern California.

Prior to joining Earthjustice, Adrian worked as a smog and healthy communities attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council for more than nine years. Adrian received a degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Duke University and a law degree from the University of Denver College of Law, where he was a Chancellor’s Scholar. He is admitted to practice in California.

In addition to his professional work, Adrian volunteers for many nonprofits. He sits on the board of Communities for a Better Environment. He also sits on the Board of the Climate Change Law Foundation. Adrian serves on the advisory board for the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA Law School. Adrian also serves as a lecturer at the UCLA Law School, where he co-teaches a class on Environmental Justice Law & Policy.

Expert Posts & Articles

Clean and electric trucks sit on display at an event on new national clean air standards for heavy-duty trucks near the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters on December 20, 2022 in Washington, DC.
June 30, 2026

California Leaders Listen to Community Demanding Action to Clean up Deadly Diesel Pollution

California includes $135.5 million investment in state’s program to electrify trucks.
Suburban houses in the foreground are next to an expanse of large, white warehouses that stretch into the distance. The horizon is hazy with mountains in the distance.
January 22, 2026

Four Years in, Southern California’s First-in-the-Nation Approach to Clean up Warehouse Pollution is a Beacon

If the WAIRE program were a state, it would rank 21st in electric trucks.
Illustration of how heat pumps power our everyday lives.
August 28, 2025

How an Air Agency Is Going to Zero for Homes

A new program to help Southern Californians adopt heat pumps has arrived.
Gavin Newsom, wearing jeans and a blue collard shirt is pointing a finger at Donald Trump's chest while speaking to him with a serious expression. Trump, wearing a blue suit jacket and no tie and a black baseball hat, is looking at him.
August 19, 2025

California Can’t Afford to Blink in the Showdown over Zero-Emissions

While Trump wreaks havoc, California can resist the big chill on zero-emissions.
Los Angeles Smog
August 7, 2025

Trump Wants to Make America Smoggy Again. California Legislators Are About to Make It Worse

We know where the Trump administration stands on clean air protections, but why are state legislators in California pushing a pro-pollution bill like SB 34 forward?
Smog clogs the air around the 405 freeway in Los Angeles.
May 22, 2025

Where We Go from Here on States’ Zero-Emissions Cars and Trucks Progress

Republican Senators won a temporary delay in our shift to zero-emissions using an unlawful maneuver, but states should be emboldened to quickly shape new tools to clean their air

Media Inquiries

Zoe Woodcraft
Public Affairs and Communications Officer
zwoodcraft@earthjustice.org

Bar Admissions

CA

Quoted in the News

June 6, 2026

Los Angeles Times

L.A. region begins the year with the smoggiest first 5 months in a decade

“If we have this many violations by this time, this could be a really awful year for air quality.”
April 20, 2026

San Francisco Chronicle

Soaring gas and diesel prices make California’s truck problem worse

“California still has options to outfox the Trump administration and clean our skies.”
November 8, 2024

Associated Press

California air regulators approve changes to climate program that could raise gas prices

“CARB’s justification for this version of the LCFS as a bridge for combustion fuels while we transition to zero-emissions needs to be reconsidered in light of the profoundly altered landscape we suddenly landed in this week.”
November 6, 2024

San Francisco Chronicle

While you’re waiting for election results, California could take a vote to raise your gas prices

While state regulators pitch the fuel standard as “a balanced diet,” they’re actually “giving us one piece of fruit and four pieces of candy.”
October 28, 2024

Associated Press

In nationwide first, California plans to rev up sales of electric motorcycles

“California has such dramatic air pollution problems that we’ve realized that we aren’t in a position to pick and choose. We basically need to get to zero emissions everywhere feasible.”
June 7, 2024

Los Angeles Times

Own a pool in Southern California? New air-quality rule requires electric water heaters

“When it comes to our industrial sector, we don’t have to boil the planet to boil water.”

Latest Press Statements

A person uses a rod in a machine filled with yellow melted steel with sparks flying around.
October 7, 2025

California Passes Law To Help Modernize Manufacturing in a Win for Jobs and Clean Air

AB 1280 establishes funding mechanism for companies to replace dirty industrial equipment with zero-emissions technologies
Lauren Sanchez (seated, on right) will be the new chair of the California Air Resources Board.
September 15, 2025

California Announces New Chair of the California Air Resources Board

With Lauren Sanchez at the helm, the agency must retake the reins and lead on new zero-emissions regulations once again
June 17, 2025

Earthjustice Taps Adrian Martinez as Director of the Right To Zero Campaign

With Paul Cort retiring, Martinez will lead campaign in a time of urgent need for affirmative progress in states to electrify everything
December 10, 2024

Earthjustice Responds to Potential Trump Threat to Postal Service’s Electric Mail Truck Fleet

An executive order would be unlawful move that hurts American workers and dirties our air
Firefighters walk in a neighborhood filled with orange smoke.
November 9, 2024

California Regulators Ignore Environmental Community and Scientists by Locking in Low Carbon Fuel Standard

Most of the program’s billions will go to a dark trifecta of false solutions: biofuels, biogas, and dirty hydrogen
Wide shot of the downtown Los Angeles skyline bathed in smog. View from Griffith Park.
June 7, 2024

Southern California Passes Landmark Rule to Electrify Water Heaters & Boilers

Southern California is set to replace over a million pieces of gas-powered equipment with zero-emissions technology and cut smog-harming NOx pollution by 5.6 tons per day