January 28, 2020 – SACRAMENTO—Yesterday, the California State Assembly held an oversight hearing to consider the sustainability and safety of California's oil extraction industry in light of massive spills at Chevron's Cymric oil field in Kern County over the last few years. READ MORE →

November 19, 2019 – 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. READ MORE →

September 24, 2019 – SACRAMENTO—On Friday, as youth across California were striking to protect their futures from disastrous climate change, the office of Governor Newsom announced that he would be signing an executive order to “leverage the state’s $700 billion pension investment portfolio and assets to advance California’s climate leadership.” While the executive order touches on many aspects of California’s economy, including state investments, transportation systems and vehicles and electric vehicle infrastructure, it fails to address the state’s fossil fuel industry.  READ MORE →

August 12, 2019 – SACRAMENTO—First uncovered by the Desert Sun, Californians learned today that the state agency responsible for regulating the oil and gas industry, the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) has been using “dummy” files to allow fossil fuel companies to avoid review and continue risky projects without oversight. This news comes one month after Governor Newsom’s office fired DOGGR head Ken Harris for doubling the fracking permits issued during his time as governor without his knowledge and reports of conflict of interest among senior officials.  READ MORE →

July 24, 2019 – MCKITTRICK, CA– Governor Gavin Newsom today visited Chevron’s Cymric oilfield, the site of one of the largest oil spills ever in California, that has reportedly seeped 974,400 gallons of a hazardous mix of oil and wastewater into the surrounding area for over two months.  READ MORE →

July 12, 2019 – MCKITTRICK, CA—As first reported by KQED, an oil spill even larger than the 2015 Plains All American Pipeline disaster occurred in Kern County. It spilled more than a half-million gallons of oil and wastewater into the surrounding area over the past two months. READ MORE →

June 28, 2019 – SACRAMENTO—California Governor Gavin Newsom yesterday signed into law a state budget that allocates $1.5 million for “a study to identify strategies to decrease demand and supply of fossil fuels, while managing the decline of fossil fuel use in a way that is economically responsible and sustainable.” An interagency state team, in partnership with the University of California system, will explore managing the decline of in-state production alongside a decrease in demand.  READ MORE →

May 6, 2019 – SACRAMENTO—California Governor Gavin Newsom released his revised 2019-20 budget proposal yesterday, calling for “the need for careful study and planning to decrease demand and supply of fossil fuels, while managing the decline in a way that is economically responsible and sustainable.” (p. 74) The proposal includes $1.5 million for a study laying out the key actions the state must take to transition California’s economy away from fossil fuels by 2050. READ MORE →