As the California Legislature returned to session after summer recess, climate activists organized multiple events at the state Capitol. On August 18, demonstrators unfurled large banners in the Capitol rotunda proclaiming “Newson Stand Up To Big Oil." On August 20, advocates representing a coalition of 140 organizations held a press conference on the Capitol lawn to call attention to oil industry-backed bills moving through the session this year.

Newsom and legislative leaders are trying to push environmentally destructive bills through the Legislature, including one that would expand oil drilling in California and another that would extend cap and trade through 2045 without amendments to spending guardrails, emission caps and regulatory oversight. At the press conference on August 20, Senior Legislative Manager of the California Environmental Justice Alliance Raquel Mason exposed the need for legislators to focus on affordability for the state’s residents, not oil companies and other corporate polluters.

“Lawmakers promised a legislative session focused on affordability, yet what we have seen is a commitment to the status quo with more profits for polluters while communities continue to bear the steep health and financial costs of pollution,” said Mason. “Cap and trade must be reformed to put people first. Poverty and inequality are on the rise and growing because of worsening climate change. Reforming Cap-and-Trade is an opportunity to create a more equitable and just future for communities bearing the brunt of the climate crisis with their lives and their pocketbooks.”

Activists unfurl banners calling on Newsom to stand up to Big Oil, stop oil drilling expansion | Climate advocates demand that Newsom, Legislature stop selling out to Big Oil