Here’s one quick answer to that question. It will take people joining together to get the job done. As in so many struggles
for peace, justice, and a livable planet, a united front against deep-pocketed polluters and their enablers is what is needed. We all have a role to play. Here’s how you can keep yourself informed, join with others, engage, and take action.

Here’s some good news. We live in California, the fifth-largest economy in the world. California also has a reputation as a climate champion and many other states and countries follow California’s lead. Models of success in California often spread beyond our borders. By focusing on policy right here in our own state we can have global impact.

Now here’s some not-so-good news. California, with all of the strides we have made on climate, is still a major oil and gas state in terms of both production and consumption. We are the seventh largest oil producer and fourth largest fossil gas producer in the nation.

But there is no plan in place to stop the import, refining, or export of crude oil. In fact, we currently export about 30
percent more finished fossil fuels than the state needs. So, although California ranks second only to Texas in terms of per capita in-state consumption of petroleum, we produce more than we need. Therefore, we can start the transition off fossil fuels today.

Three urgent reasons among many why we need to rapidly phase out fossil fuels:
  • Working-class communities of color are suffering serious health consequences from living near oil and gas operations, everything from extraction to refining to end-use. Cancer, heart disease, premature birth, asthma, and other lung diseases are among the many maladies that oil and gas pollution inflict on these communities. This is a public health emergency that needs far greater attention, and meaningful regulation.
  • The industry is spending millions of dollars to push false solutions such as biofuels, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage. These only serve to either prolong the hazardous petroleum era or introduce new polluting industries, which repeat mistakes of the past.
  • Last, but certainly not least, the climate crisis, which is a crisis dictated by the laws of physics, demands that swift action be taken to rapidly phase out fossil and other polluting fuels. According to NASA, 2023 was the hottest year on record by far globally. In fact, many scientists are confident that the latest global temperatures are higher than they have been in over 100,000 years.

So what will it take? In a nutshell, it will take a comprehensive plan for a truly just transition for oil and gas industry workers,
their families, and the communities in which they live. These communities are, quite often, dependent on the industry for their tax base. That would mean a transition into high-road employment in careers in the growing clean energy economy that is, as I write this, driving down demand for fossil fuels. It would take the planning and implementation of an equity-centered, labor-friendly oil and gas production decline protocol, where these industries are mandated to reduce production, year over year, commensurate with the decline of in-state demand as the clean energy economy emerges.

Some ways you can unite with others and help end the fossil fuel era:
  • Each legislative session, the oil industry shows up to kill good climate and energy legislation and push bad bills. If you live in Sonoma County, think about volunteering with The Climate Center’s Rapid Response Team, a small but mighty group that takes swift action when needed.
  • Endorse the Climate Safe California platform, a set of policies that will enable California to remove more climate pollution from the atmosphere than we emit, while creating thousands of jobs and building a more equitable clean energy economy. You can endorse it as an individual or get any organization you are a member of to endorse.
  • This year, the oil industry has placed a terrible initiative on the ballot, aimed at reversing legislation passed in 2022 that creates a 3200-foot buffer between oil wells and homes. Unite with others to defeat this initiative and protect public health at the Campaign for a Safe & Healthy California. On November 5, vote to “keep the law!.”
  • Help stop California from providing subsidies and tax breaks for the fossil fuel industry. Visit our Action Page on this issue where you can send a letter to the governor.
  • Join with others in a legislative campaign to divest California’s two largest retirement funds from fossil fuel companies.
  • Get to know your local not-for-profit energy service provider, Sonoma Clean Power, and their Advanced Energy Center at 741 4th St. Santa Rosa. Take advantage of their many money saving energy efficiency and clean energy programs.
  • Find your state representatives and tell them you support strong legislation to phase out fossil fuels on a fast-paced timeline.
Woody Hastings is the Phase Out Polluting Fuels Program Manager for The Climate Center, a statewide climate and energy policy nonprofit working to rapidly reduce climate pollution at scale, starting in California. He can be reached at [email protected] Since 2001 The Climate Center has been a leader in making climate solutions a reality in California at speed and scale. www.theclimatecenter.org.