Fossil Fuels

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Testimony: Cut fossil fuel subsidies, not climate investments

Oil drilling site. Photo via Canva.

On March 21, 2024, the California Senate Budget Subcommittee on Resources, Environmental Protection, and Energy met to hear from experts and the public on the proposed 2024-2025 state budget. Facing a multi-billion-dollar budget deficit, Governor Newsom has proposed billions in potential cuts to climate and energy investments. If approved by the legislature, the cuts could … Read more

Categories Climate Justice Fossil Fuels Transportation
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More reasons why California must stop oil drilling

Neighborhood oil drilling in California

Despite our reputation for climate leadership, California still produces hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil per day. Each day this practice continues, the state is failing millions of residents who face toxic and dangerous conditions in their communities.  In early February in Bakersfield, an oil pipe burst in front of an elementary school, sending … Read more

Categories Climate Justice Fossil Fuels Public Health
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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
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Passing 1.5 degrees Celsius and what you can do about it

Last weekend’s storm that knocked out power for 800,000 Californians drove home what climate extremes mean in real life. The storm was yet another record-breaker after a year of climate disruptions that shocked scientists — from record-high temperature averages in 77 countries to severe floods in China, Greece, India, Libya, New Zealand, and the United … Read more

Categories Climate Targets Fossil Fuels
| Press Release

Facing budget deficit, Governor Newsom must eliminate all fossil fuel subsidies and tax breaks

Gavin Newsom by Charlie Kaijo

SACRAMENTO — Faced with a $38 billion budget deficit, Governor Newsom today announced additional proposed cuts to California’s climate and energy investments. If approved by the legislature, these cuts would bring California’s multi-year climate budget down to $48.3 billion from the $54 billion approved in 2022, an 11 percent reduction. Some of these cuts may … Read more

Categories Climate Justice Fossil Fuels

What Lackluster Progress at COP28 Means for California

Zoom

The final agreement reached at COP28, the annual United Nations climate conference that concluded in December, recognized the need to transition away from fossil fuels. But it contained almost no details about how nations can wean themselves off of oil, gas, and coal. In this webinar, we heard from California legislators, The Climate Center’s own … Read more

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What We Learned at COP28: California Can and Must Do More on Climate

The Climate Center's Marc Victoria, Baani Behniwal, and Barry Vesser at COP28

Last November, The Climate Center’s Barry Vesser, Baani Behniwal, and Marc Victoria traveled to Dubai, United Arab Emirates for COP28 — the UN’s annual climate conference — to help coordinate the California delegation. With a record attendance of 84,000 people from 193 countries, this COP was massive. You may be wondering why The Climate Center, … Read more

Categories Carbon Sequestration Climate Targets Fossil Fuels

California Climate Lobby Day 2024

Sacramento, CA

On March 20 2024, the day after the California Climate Policy Summit, The Climate Center and our partners led a day of advocacy at state legislative offices. This was an opportunity to meet directly with lawmakers and their staff to deliver a clear and compelling message about the bills we want to see California pass … Read more

| Press Release

COP28 fails to deliver fossil fuel phaseout plan, so California must

Baani Behniwal and Barry Vesser Dubai COP28

SAN FRANCISCO — COP28, the annual United Nations climate conference, has come to a close. While UN officials call the agreement reached the “beginning of the end” of fossil fuels, it still falls well short of what science says is necessary to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as defined by the Paris Agreement.  In … Read more

Categories Carbon Sequestration Climate Justice Fossil Fuels

Managing the Transition Away From Fossil Fuels. What Is Required?

The Climate Registry Pavilion, Expo City, Dubai

California and a few other climate-leading states and countries have made initial progress reducing demand for oil — for example through deploying electric vehicles — but have done very little on the supply side. The International Energy Agency tells us that staying below 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming is incompatible with any new oil and … Read more