Governor Gavin Newsom has taken action to ban new permits for fracking (a controversial oil extraction method adequately known as hydraulic fracturing) as of 2024. He also called on regulators to review phasing out all oil production in the state by 2045. The announcement arrives as a recall campaign against him cuts close to qualifying for the ballot.
Newsom had previously stated that he lacked the executive authority to ban fracking. But after efforts to pass the ban legislatively failed, he decided to use the state’s environmental regulatory authority, an administration spokesperson explained.
Newsom said in a statement:
“The climate crisis is real, and we continue to see the signs every day. As we move to swiftly decarbonize our transportation sector and create a healthier future for our children, I’ve made it clear I don’t see a role for fracking in that future and, similarly, believe that California needs to move beyond oil.”
California’s Department of Conservation, which regulates the state’s oil and gas industry, will issue the new mandate. It’s set to be imposed in 2024 to give the agency time to draft it. And the California Air Resources Board will be the one to analyze how to end all oil extraction in the state by 2045. These plans coincide with the governor’s call to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035 and the state’s effort to achieve economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2045.
The response by environmental activists was overwhelmingly positive, fittingly so since they’ve been pushing to outlaw fracking for years in the state without success. Fracking involves shooting a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals at high-pressure deep underground to extract natural gas and oil. The environmental impacts can be severe, including groundwater contamination from chemical spills.
However, fracking only accounts for 2% of the oil production in California, so the ban is more symbolic than industry-changing. Nevertheless, the move sends a bold message to the nation and the rest of the world about the state’s future.
Jared Blumenfeld, California’s secretary of environmental protection, said:
“This would be the first jurisdiction in the world to end oil extraction. It’s a big deal. I think it helps frame all the other activities that we’re doing something fundamental, and it’s a clear signal that we need to build a just transition for that industry.”
Meanwhile, some groups weren’t satisfied. They said Newsom’s plans needed to be accelerated because vulnerable communities near refineries and oil fields can’t afford to wait until 2045, when they face severe hazards to their health right now.
Kassie Siegel, the director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, said:
“We don’t have time for studies and delays. Californians living next to these dirty and dangerous drilling operations need protection from oil industry pollution today. Every fracking and drilling permit issued does more damage to our health and climate.”
And others weren’t pleased about Newsom’s plan to phase out California’s oil production. Leaders from state trade unions of the industry issued a scathing response, saying it would devastate the economies in the heart of California oil country and cost thousands of well-paying union jobs.
John Spaulding, the executive secretary of the Building Trades Council for Inyo, Kern, and Mono counties, said:
“Every student, every firefighter, and every resident of Kern County will be hurt by the governor’s political announcement today. We will work to oppose this effort for our membership, their families, our schools, and our future. I have one question for Gavin Newsom: Are our jobs too dirty for you?”
There are 26 million vehicles with internal combustion engines registered in California, and the oil industry there is substantial. According to the Western States Petroleum Assn, it supports nearly 368,000 blue-collar jobs.
Robbie Hunter, the president of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, said thousands of jobs would be lost and exported to foreign countries. He said:
“This announcement, steeped in politics rather than facts and science, will bring about the loss of tens of thousands of good, middle-class, blue-collar jobs and double the cost of gasoline and diesel, adding more weight to the backs of already struggling California families.”
CEO and President of the Western States Petroleum Assn. Catherine Reheis-Boyd criticized the governor for ruling the state by “fiat.” She said his actions would force the state to import oil from countries such as Ecuador, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia instead since the demand for gasoline, diesel, and other petroleum products have not subsided in California.
Reheis-Boyd said:
“If you’re going to ban production in California, that means you support crude oil coming from those places. That means you also support increasing marine tankers that carry crude oil over sensitive waterways, into already congested ports in L.A., Long Beach, San Francisco — or you must support rail traffic through sensitive areas and communities.”
The fracking ban will likely face a legal challenge. The UK has also recently banned fracking.
