Last week, CARB, California Air Resources Board, followed Governor Newsom’s directive and overturned a state program that was aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by the state’s major air polluters. The program called “Cap and Invest” imposed payments on greenhouse gases emitted by major greenhouse gas polluters – oil production and refining being the major polluters. The program has had an impact on the reduction of greenhouse gases over the past 13 years.
Now they will be given about $2 billion in free emission permits. Not only will that give them no reason to reduce their pollution, but that would have resulted in payments of about two billion dollars a year to the state. The money from this program was used to fund the electrification of public transit, including BART, along with building affordable housing, environmental research, and other programs.
The claim is that big oil was losing money because of the U.S. war on Iran and the rising cost of oil, which means higher prices at the pump for us. Don’t feel sorry for the big oil companies. They spent $10.3 million in the first three months of the year lobbying Sacramento to get this passed. And despite a drop in reported profits (which are often false), Chevron’s stock has reached all-time highs.
What more do they have to do to prove that they are engaged in a criminal attempt to destroy our lives and the health of our Earth in their drive for profits?
