The Climate Center

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Tell California leaders: No more giveaways for Big Oil through Cap and Trade

Oil pumpjack on fire. Photo by Canva.

State lawmakers will begin the long process of reauthorizing and possibly reforming California’s Cap and Trade program this year. Cap and Trade is California’s market-based system intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It works by setting a limit on the total amount of emissions allowed within the state, then allowing companies to buy and sell … Read more

Categories Fossil Fuels
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Make polluters pay for fueling the Los Angeles fires

Decades ago, fossil fuel corporations’ own research teams warned that their pollution would irrevocably harm the earth. Instead of heeding scientists’ warnings, Big Oil executives spent millions to deceive our communities about the dangers of climate change and ramped up drilling and pollution in order to line their pockets with billions of dollars in profits. … Read more

Categories Fossil Fuels
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Tell Governor Newsom and state leaders: Eliminate fossil fuel subsidies and prioritize climate investments

Gavin Newsom by Charlie Kaijo

California’s 2025-2026 state budget includes $273 million in cuts to climate and energy investments but protects huge tax breaks for oil and gas corporations. After unprecedented wildfires ravaged Los Angeles only days into 2025, California must strengthen critical climate programs, not cut them. Every dollar we invest in fighting the climate crisis today will save … Read more

Categories Fossil Fuels
| Report

Water’s Edge Tax Haven and California’s Budget Shortfall

How Oil and Gas Majors Crafted a Tax Avoidance Policy Contributing to Ongoing Budget Woes

Oil tankers at the Port of Long Beach.

This report details how global oil majors like ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Shell orchestrated the creation of California’s Water’s Edge tax loophole — a policy that now costs California taxpayers billions annually. It offers a first-of-its-kind, historical look at how oil giants lobbied for and have benefited from the Water’s Edge tax election, shielding their profits … Read more

Categories Climate Justice Fossil Fuels
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Tell California’s leaders to stand up for climate action

Climate Rally in Sacramento

What we do in California to address the climate crisis has a ripple effect across the world. With a climate-denying, pro-oil president waging war on federal climate action, California’s climate leadership is more important than ever. The new administration is attacking federal climate progress at every level. On his first day in office, the new … Read more

Categories Carbon Sequestration Clean Energy Fossil Fuels
| Blog Post

The climate imperative: As goes California, so goes the world

California has a reputation for precedent-setting climate policy, and the last year has shown us why. Thanks to the support of our generous donors, The Climate Center has been at the center of passing nation-leading, new laws. This year, together with policymakers, scientists, business leaders, local governments, activists, and others across the climate movement, we: … Read more

Categories Carbon Sequestration Clean Energy Climate Targets Community Energy Resilience Fossil Fuels
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Urge state officials to transition to equitable, affordable, and clean transportation fuels

In 2023, Governor Newsom signed SBX1-2, which aims to prevent fuel price-gouging. The law includes a provision for the California Energy Commission and California Air Resources Board (CARB) to conduct a Transportation Fuels Assessment and develop a Transportation Fuels Transition Plan that will determine how the state transitions to clean fuels. CARB will be starting … Read more

Categories Just Transition Transportation
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Update: The climate bond is on the ballot!

A community enjoys clean air and thriving nature. Photo via Canva.

Facing a multi-billion-dollar budget deficit, California walked back critical investments in a climate-safe future. The best pathway we have to protecting climate resilience programs across the state is to introduce a robust, equitable climate bond on November’s ballot. We must act at the speed and scale the climate crisis demands, which means that we cannot … Read more

Categories Carbon Sequestration
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Tell Governor Newsom: Hold big corporations accountable for their climate pollution

Governor Newsom at UN Climate Week in 2023, where he committed to sign SB 253 and 261. Photo: Office of the California Governor.

Updated May 13, 2024. In 2023, Governor Newsom signed landmark climate laws to set stricter standards for corporate polluters. SB 253 and SB 261 are two first-in-the-nation laws that require major corporations doing business in California to report the full scope of their climate pollution and their climate-related financial risk. Huge corporations mounted fierce opposition … Read more

Categories Fossil Fuels
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Stop Big Oil’s carbon capture scam in California

Big Oil is pushing to greenlight the first-ever carbon capture and storage scam in California. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) prolongs the burning of fossil fuels and poses serious public health risks, despite Big Oil falsely advertising it as a climate solution. These projects have consistently proven ineffective, unsafe, and expensive. Fossil fuel corporations claim … Read more

Categories Climate Justice Fossil Fuels Public Health