California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state’s intention to eliminate oil extraction by 2045 in an effort to reach net zero carbon dioxide emissions, according to a press release.
With an executive order, Newsom directed the Department of Conservation’s Geologic Energy Management Division to stop approving new hydraulic fracking permits by 2024.
The Conservation Department will immediately begin the regulatory rulemaking process that is required to prevent new permits.
Newsom also directed the California Air Resources Board to begin assessing options for altogether eliminating oil extraction.
“The climate crisis is real, and we continue to see the signs every day,” Newsom said. “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 Climate Change Scoping Plan outlines the bureaucratic process by which the state hopes to crush its oil industry and make its citizens dependent upon costly and unreliable renewable energies.
The Air Resources Board will examine the ways in which carbon neutrality and the destruction of the oil industry will give “benefits to disadvantaged communities” and provide “opportunities for job creation and economic growth.”
California already has “the most stringent” regulatory framework for approving fracking permits in the United States, according to the press release.
