by Katy Grimes, E&E Legal Senior Media Fellow and California Globe Editor
As Appearing in the California Globe
California’s policies aren’t reducing oil production or CO2 emissions in the U.S. or around the world
“Congratulations to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is succeeding at his goal of driving away fossil fuel investment and jobs, even while failing to reduce global CO2 emissions.”
Ouch. That is from the Wall Street Journal editorial board, as Chevron recently announced “that it is writing down its upstream assets in the Golden State owing to ‘continuing regulatory challenges.’”
In “Another California Gift to Texas: Chevron explains to Sacramento why the state is losing jobs and investment,” WSJ explains Chevron’s write-down acknowledges what the company has been telling California lawmakers for some time:
[Lawmakers] Their energy policies are making the state uninvestable. These include the state cap-and-trade program, low-carbon fuel standard, penalty on “excessive” refiner margins, and a 2022 law limiting new drilling within 3,200 feet of homes and schools.
California policies have made it “riskier than investing in other states, with projects being lower in quality and higher in cost,” Chevron’s Americas Products business president Andy Walz wrote last month in a filing with the California Energy Commission. “Chevron alone has reduced spending in California by hundreds of millions of dollars since 2022.”
The Globe has covered the Governor’s and California Democrats’ absurd efforts to kill off the oil and gas industry in the state.
