In Gutting California Climate Bill, Big Oil Won Skirmish — But Not War
(COMMON DREAMS) Deirdre Fulton — Big Oil has succeeded in dismantling a key component of California’s sweeping climate change bill, with legislative leaders announcing Wednesday afternoon that in the wake of an intense lobbying campaign, they would drop a measure calling for a 50 percent cut in petroleum use by 2030.
The fossil fuel industry had poured money into advertising and lobbying campaigns against Senate Bill 350 (SB350), calling the legislation the “California Gas Restriction Act of 2015” and warning that it could lead to gas-rationing, bans on SUVs, and the demise of oil companies.
Supporters had a different take, saying that SB 350 represented “an opportunity for our state to go in a new direction, allowing us all to avoid toiling away to stop yet another toxic power plant in our backyard, and it can also reverse our destructive reliance on fossil fuels,” as one young activist, Evelyn García, wrote in the lead up to this week’s showdown.
Among climate leaders like 350.org’s Jamie Henn, there was little doubt that the fossil fuel industry’s “bottomless war chest” was to blame for the defeat.