We return again to a brand-new op-ed from Jason Isaac on the consequences of California’s climate alarmism. As Isaac points out, during his time as Governor, Gavin Newsom has spent much of it “demonizing” American energy and waging a “regulatory war” on the very energy California needs.
“California’s governor, the would-be heir to the White House, spent the better part of his tenure demonizing the oil and gas industry, waging regulatory war on refineries, and touting apocalyptic ‘just transitions’ away from reliable energy. Through an array of coordinated cases, Newsom has been using climate lawfare as a way to impose his extreme energy agenda on California.”
As Isaac notes, this climate alarmism is having real-world consequences for California:
“After years of escalating hostility, capped by cascading lawsuits and piles of red tape, refineries in Southern and Northern California are shutting their doors. Phillips 66 and Valero, giants forced out not by market forces but by legislative sabotage, are just the latest casualties. The aftermath has resulted in soaring prices, dwindling supplies and a panicked political about-face, as Newsom “reconsiders” his position to stave off voter revolt and economic pain that even blue-state consumers can’t stomach. This is what happens when a government, seduced by climate catastrophism and far-left activism, trades affordable energy for Paris Accord virtue-signaling and lawsuit-driven policy. Lawfare, overregulation and the never-ending escalation of climate mandates haven’t ushered in a green utopia. They have instead delivered higher prices, manufactured scarcity and a growing national security nightmare.”
Isaac also makes clear that the problem extends far beyond California; it threatens America’s national security as the US “cedes energy leadership to China:”
“It’s not just a California problem; it’s an America problem. The Newsom model: regulate to the point of collapse, sue the producers out of existence and import more oil from regimes that laugh at net zero and Environmental, Social and Governance or ESG. As the U.S. cedes energy leadership to China, the world’s largest coal consumer and rare earths monopolist, we’re helping Beijing tighten its grip on our supply chains for batteries, solar panels, and critical minerals. For every new regulatory stranglehold, China gets richer and the U.S. gets weaker. In short, Newsom’s policies are a blueprint for how America loses the 21st century.”
Read the full story in The Hill.
