SACRAMENTO ━ Today, California Governor Gavin Newsom launched an unprecedented new effort to begin phasing out in-state oil production as part of a plan to make the state carbon neutral by 2045. California, which boasts the fifth largest economy in the world and ranks among the nation’s top oil producers, will begin a process to strengthen health and safety requirements, including the consideration of a setback requirement near oil permitting, establish a moratorium on an extreme-extraction technique known as steam injection that poses serious contamination risks to nearby air and water sources, and establish new third-party review for fracking and other related permitting, with a moratorium on new fracking approvals pending further review.
oday’s historic move comes after over 700 organizations with Last Chance Alliance, have waged a multi-year campaign calling on California’s Governor to protect the health and safety of communities living on the front lines of the state’s massive fossil fuel industry, and to phase out the production of oil and gas in the state as a critical part of meeting the climate goals set out in the Paris Climate Agreement. The announcement follows an earlier commitment in the 2019-2020 state budget to identify strategies to decrease demand and supply of fossil fuels, as the state moves away from its dependence on oil toward renewable energy. Earlier this year, Governor Newsom also put in place a freeze on the issuance of permits for fracking, which has been reaffirmed today with a new process for review.
Read Last Chance Alliance’s full press release featuring CBE.