She called it “a blatant attempt by the governor to shut down the oil and gas industry in California.” “It’s really a testament to the frontline communities not shutting up and not staying quiet about it.”Ĭalifornia joins other oil states such as Colorado, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Texas that already have setbacks in certain communities.īut Greene, at the Western States Petroleum Association, said the law wouldn’t make life safer for nearby families. People who live near oil and gas drilling are exposed to contaminants that increase rates of asthma, premature births, low birth weights, cardiovascular disease and cancer, according to numerous studies. The coalition consists of eight environmental justice and health and safety organizations, most based in Kern and Los Angeles counties.Īround 2.7 million Californians live within a half-mile of an oil or gas well, he said. In communities in and around Bakersfield and Los Angeles, oil derricks operating close to homes and schools are commonplace, especially in low-income communities of color, said Kobi Naseck, the coalition coordinator at Voices in Solidarity Against Oil in Neighborhoods (known as VISIÓN). So-called setbacks have been a goal of environmental justice activists for nearly a decade in California, the country’s seventh-largest oil producer. One of the more contentious laws bars new oil and gas wells within 3,200 feet of day care facilities, homes, schools and hospitals. The state also extended the life of its last remaining nuclear power plant by five years. It cements the state’s goal of producing net-zero carbon emissions by 2045 and requires the state to hasten carbon removal through natural means, such as planting more trees and restoring wetlands. The raft of legislation includes a requirement that the state generates 90% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2035. If Californians don’t meet conservation goals, mandatory water cuts are imminent. Stateline Story JWater Cuts Are Coming for the West “It disregards the livelihoods of thousands of Californians, who still need to drive to work, who still need to drive their kids to school, who still need to balance their household budgets.” “It is the California government dictating how and when we can travel and mandating the type of energy we’re using and when we can use it,” said Kara Greene, a spokesperson for the Western States Petroleum Association, a Sacramento, California-headquartered trade group that represents petroleum companies in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. California is now in the best position to do that.”Įnvironmental advocates lauded the measures, but the oil and gas industry warned that the policies would raise costs for consumers and increase California’s dependence on other countries for fuel. “Somebody needs to step up and not just do their part but really push the envelope. “The world is really desperate for a climate leader right now,” he said. This was a breakthrough year in California for the legislative and regulatory action needed to curb the worst impacts of the climate crisis, said Ryan Schleeter, communications director for The Climate Center, a nonprofit that advocated for several of these measures.
In addition to the new laws, California legislators approved $54 billion in climate spending over the next five years, including investments in electric vehicles, drought resilience and public transportation using the state’s budget surplus. Gavin Newsom recently signed bills that will slash the state’s carbon emissions, protect vulnerable communities by banning new oil extraction close by and create a two-decade pathway to a 100% clean energy electrical grid. Three years into a drought that is exacerbating wildfires and forcing limits on water consumption, California Democratic Gov. California has enacted an ambitious package of legislation to aggressively combat the climate crisis - a bold move by the world’s fifth-largest economy that could inspire action in other states.
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