California Considers More Drilling and Other Concessions to Big Oil as Refineries Plan to Close

California has long gone head-to-head with big oil, leading many of the efforts to curb climate damage caused at the hands of the fossil fuel industry – including spearheading lawsuits against oil companies and pushing fracking bans.  But faced with the closure of two state refineries, and rising gas prices, Governor Gavin Newsom has made some major concessions on oil to not only keep the refineries open, but to draft a bill for more drilling in Kern county. We’ll talk about California’s changing relationship with the oil industry, the state’s efforts to phase out fossil fuels, and what’s going to happen to gas prices in the meantime.

Guests:

Severin Borenstein, professor at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business; faculty director of The Energy Institute at Haas; member, Board of Governors of the California Independent System Operator

Lori Wilson, California State Assemblywoman, District 11

Alex Nieves, California transportation reporter, POLITICO

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