Tom Steyer knows that Californians are feeling the affordability crisis across all aspects of their lives, especially at the gas pump. He knows that Trump and Big Oil are using the war in Iran as cover to jack up gas prices.
And Steyer knows that Californians are paying the price—but it doesn’t have to be this way.
Deliver Independence from Trump’s Fossil-
Fueled Chaos
Californians are seeing prices spike at the pump—over 50 cents per
gallon in a single week—as global oil markets react to escalating
conflict in the Persian Gulf. This is not a coincidence. This is what an
oil-reliant economy looks like. Californians deserve better.
Protect Californians from War-Driven Price Spikes: Clean Renewable Energy Is the Path to Affordable Independence from Fossil Fuels
As long as our economy runs on oil, wars, conflict, and market
disruptions—at home and abroad—we will continue to see rising costs and uncertainty.
Unlike oil, electricity, which can be produced using clean renewable energy is not subject to global instability, making it a far more stable fuel
More Drilling Will Not Lower Prices—Global Markets Set the Price
No matter how much oil is drilled in California or the U.S., prices are still determined on the global market.
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- California’s oil fields are aging and becoming more energy-intensive to extract, diminishing the profitability of drilling in California.
- Industry leaders acknowledge that their short-term price spikes do not justify new drilling investments
California is Supporting An Affordable Transition Off Oil and Gas—Let’s Keep Going
The only way to shield Californians from volatile oil and gas prices is to transition away from fossil fuels to affordable, clean, renewable energy. We’ve been doing just that and we need to do more.
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- Price Shock Protections: Call on the California Energy Commission to swiftly adopt regulations to increase resupply and minimum gasoline inventories.
- California Clean Skies Act: Legislators can vote for a new tool to cut pollution from diesel exhaust hotspots.
- Drive Forward Standards: Support the Air Resources Board’s early process in developing cost-effective and equity-centered clean vehicle standards and incentives to regain state leadership in transportation electrification.
- Budget Clean Transportation Investments: Legislators can support equity-based funding for clean mobility programs, including incentives for light- and heavy-duty EVs.
- Cap-and-Invest: Call on the Air Resources Board to focus on emissions reductions and investing the program’s benefits in utility bill rebates and clean tech innovation.
- Stop Spikes, Fund the Future: Legislators can vote to reduce gas price spikes with additional market flexibility while generating funding for the clean transportation future.
- Make Open Refineries Safer: Regulators and decision-makers need to strengthen our health and safety standards for refineries to protect workers, communities and consumers. We need stronger Process Safety Management regulation for refineries.
- Oppose offshore drilling on California’s coast: Leaders in Sacramento can oppose federal gas and oil leasing off California’s coast that endangers our marine environment and economy.
Oil drives and intensifies conflicts across the globe, but no one is fighting wars over sunlight or wind. Moving away from oil doesn’t just cut pollution, it promotes peace.
California can protect consumers by building a more affordable and independent energy future, now.
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