Two years ago, California governor Gavin Newsom announced that the Golden State had joined the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance, whose aim is to bring “together national and subnational governments committed to advancing a just transition away from oil and gas production.” This year, he signed a package of bills that the Los Angeles Times described as a continuation of a “fossil fuel crackdown.”
That characterization is apt. Other components of the crackdown include the governor and state attorney general Rob Bonta’s lawsuit against oil companies, a call for a windfall-profits tax at a time when profit margins in the energy sector are declining precipitously, ordinances that block the construction of new gas stations, an oil-industry “transparency” bill likely to damage an already-declining business model, and a de facto ban on new oil wells. These actions are inseparable from the state’s rush to end industrial and transportation carbon dioxide emissions. But California’s leaders don’t appear to have a backup plan if things go awry.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.
Newsom’s Quixotic Quest
Kerry Jackson
Two years ago, California governor Gavin Newsom announced that the Golden State had joined the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance, whose aim is to bring “together national and subnational governments committed to advancing a just transition away from oil and gas production.” This year, he signed a package of bills that the Los Angeles Times described as a continuation of a “fossil fuel crackdown.”
That characterization is apt. Other components of the crackdown include the governor and state attorney general Rob Bonta’s lawsuit against oil companies, a call for a windfall-profits tax at a time when profit margins in the energy sector are declining precipitously, ordinances that block the construction of new gas stations, an oil-industry “transparency” bill likely to damage an already-declining business model, and a de facto ban on new oil wells. These actions are inseparable from the state’s rush to end industrial and transportation carbon dioxide emissions. But California’s leaders don’t appear to have a backup plan if things go awry.
Read the full article at City Journal . . .
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.