News

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| Blog Post

Big Oil’s record-breaking lobbying blocks climate action

Big Oil spent a record $38 million on lobbying in California in 2024 to obstruct climate progress, shattering its 2017 record by 31 percent. The Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) and Chevron, which together accounted for 83 percent of the industry’s expenditure in 2024, broke their previous spending record, with a combined $31.6 million last … Read more

| Blog Post

Testimony: Clean, affordable electricity using distributed energy resources

On February 19, 2025, the California Senate Energy, Utilities, and Communications Committee held a hearing on how to provide clean, affordable electricity. Electricity rates in California are nearly double the national average and have skyrocketed in recent years, outpacing inflation even while investor-owned utilities rake in record profits. The following expert testimony was provided to … Read more

| Take Action

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

| Post

Los Angeles needs a climate-smart recovery

The fossil-fueled Los Angeles fires are a heart-wrenching reminder of what the world is in for as we speed past 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming. Climate disasters have outpaced our ability to deal with them. As recovery efforts get underway in Los Angeles, rebuilding for more resilience is paramount, especially in the face of federal … Read more

| Take Action

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

| Take Action

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

| Post

This Big Oil tax break must go

Chevron is one of five oil corporations named alongside the American Petroleum Institute in California's landmark new climate case.

As wildfires rage across Southern California and tens of thousands of people are evacuated (including our own staff members), oil and gas companies continue to wreck the climate while enjoying huge profits. This is the backdrop of a new report by The Climate Center, which reveals that a California tax policy called the “Water’s Edge … Read more

| Press Release

Big oil was instrumental in crafting a California tax policy that now costs billions in revenue, report reveals

As California faces another deficit, advocates urge lawmakers to end fossil fuel subsidies

Oil tankers at the Port of Long Beach.

SACRAMENTO — Global oil majors played a pivotal role in orchestrating a multibillion-dollar tax dodge that shields corporate profits from California taxes, according to new, in-depth historical research and analysis by The Climate Center. The Water’s Edge tax election, established in the state in 1986 after a decade-long fight, enables multinational corporations to avoid taxes … Read more