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greenlining institute
California's New Fossil Fuel Pledge 'Significant' But Still a 'Half-Measure,' Say Climate Advocates
"The challenge now is to speed up the timeline so that it meets the urgency that science and justice demand."
Apr 23, 2021
Climate campaigners on Friday cautiously applauded California Gov. Gavin Newsom's moves to cut off new hydraulic fracturing permits by 2024 and evaluate phasing out oil production by 2045, while also stressing that the timeline still needs to be accelerated.
"California is the highest-producing jurisdiction in the world so far to commit to a phaseout of oil extraction, and other major producers need to join the state in committing to move beyond oil and gas."
--Collin Rees, OCI
The embattled Democratic governor of the world's fifth-largest economy directed the state Department of Conservation's Geologic Energy Management (CalGEM) Division to initiate regulatory action to stop new fracking permits and requested that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) analyze how to stop extracting oil statewide.
"It's historic and globally significant that Gov. Newsom has committed California to phase out fossil fuel production and ban fracking, but we don't have time for studies and delays," said Kassie Siegel, director of the Climate Law Institute at the Center for Biological Diversity, in a statement.
"Californians living next to these dirty and dangerous drilling operations need protection from oil industry pollution today," she added. "Every fracking and drilling permit issued does more damage to our health and climate."
Food & Water Watch California director Alexandra Nagy agreed that the governor's steps were significant and shared Siegel's frustrations with Newsom's refusal to immediately ban fracking by executive action.
"This announcement is a half-measure as it allows continued drilling and fracking for the next two-and-a-half years," Nagy said. "Directing his regulatory agencies to do the work over two-and-a-half years that the governor can do today is more of the dodging we've seen from Newsom during his entire tenure."
Since taking office in January 2019, he has approved 8,610 oil and gas well permits, according to Consumer Watchdog and FracTracker's "Newsom Well Watch" website.
\u201cThank you @GavinNewsom for listening to low-income residents and the communities of color who have been advocating for an end to dangerous drilling in our communities for years. \n\nThis move to phase out #fracking is an important first step. #CALeg \nhttps://t.co/L2JrthVvbP\u201d— Greenlining (@Greenlining) 1619206042
Reporting on Newsom's announcement Friday, the Los Angeles Timesnoted that he's long been under pressure to outlaw fracking:
In September, Newsom called on lawmakers to send him legislation banning the oil extraction practice. That pronouncement was greeted with skepticism by lawmakers who said barring the controversial practice would require more from Newsom than just words.
Sweeping legislation to ban fracking and other "enhanced oil recovery" methods, as well as to mandate health and safety buffer zones around oil and gas wells, failed in the state Senate last week. R.L. Miller, chair of the California Democratic Party's environmental caucus, criticized Newsom for not doing more to support the bill, even though it went far beyond his request for solely a ban on fracking.
Climate, justice, labor, and public health groups in the state continue to call for not only cutting off new fossil fuel drilling permits immediately and phasing out existing extraction but also establishing a 2,500-foot health and safety buffer around oil wells that would--as Oil Change International (OCI) senior campaigner Collin Rees put it--"help Californians suffering from the deadly impacts of neighborhood drilling."
"Newsom's announcement shows the tide is turning swiftly against fossil fuel extraction," Rees also said. "California is the highest-producing jurisdiction in the world so far to commit to a phaseout of oil extraction, and other major producers need to join the state in committing to move beyond oil and gas. Our climate emergency demands bold action, and time is of the essence."
\u201cFollowing today's ban on fracking, @GavinNewsom now has the chance to do what no Governor in California has been able to do so far: establish health buffers for Californians and end a shameful century-long history of neighborhood oil & gas drilling #CAGov\nhttps://t.co/O1FSH1y2wx\u201d— Stacey Geis (@Stacey Geis) 1619206541
While demanding bolder and more urgent climate action, campaigners did welcome Newsom's steps so far as inspirational for other elected officials.
"Stopping new permits for fracking and a plan for phasing out oil production are critical steps in the energy transition," said Matt Krogh, U.S. Oil & Gas Campaign director at Stand.earth, "and the governor should be applauded for that vision."
"This is a huge win for frontline communities and activists who have been fighting the oil industry in California, and an important statement for a world that must leave fossil fuels behind to have a chance at limiting climate change to 1.5 degrees," he added, referring to the more ambitious temperature target of the 2015 Paris agreement.
Jamie Henn, director of Fossil Free Media, said that "California's announcement today is the future of climate action: a clear commitment to keep fossil fuels in the ground... This is exactly the type of commitment that we need to see from the Biden administration and other governments around the world."
Henn, of course, added that "the challenge now is to speed up the timeline so that it meets the urgency that science and justice demand. Drilling for fossil fuels is just as dangerous today as it will be in 2045."
The governor, whose state is bracing for another devastating wildfire season, said in a statement that "the climate crisis is real, and we continue to see the signs every day."
"As we move to swiftly decarbonize our transportation sector and create a healthier future for our children," Newsom added, "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."
\u201cA great #EarthWeek announcement. CA must move beyond oil. TY Gov. @GavinNewsom for taking action to phase out #fracking in California. This will produce a healthier future for our planet and our communities.\u201d— Libby Schaaf (@Libby Schaaf) 1619207064
Greenpeace USA senior climate campaigner Amy Moas said Friday's announcement "signals an important first step by Gov. Newsom towards climate and environmental justice" but falls short of what's needed.
"California already faces the intensifying impacts of the climate crisis, which could get even worse just as the state aims to recover from the pandemic--and Gov. Newsom has a golden opportunity to lead the rest of the country in tackling the number one driver of the climate crisis," she said.
"For Gov. Newsom to reclaim California's title as an innovator and climate leader," Moas added, "he must take bold steps to protect people and the planet from dangerous fossil fuel expansion: by committing to a 2,500-foot buffer zone to protect communities living near drilling, jump-starting investments in a just transition so no workers and communities are left behind by the decline of the fossil fuel industry, and beginning a bold phaseout of fossil fuels today. These are the kinds of solutions we urgently need to address fossil fuel racism, public health disparities, and give workers and communities a chance to live safe, secure, and healthy lives."
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Greenlining Institute Congratulates Georgia Winners, Urges Bold Agenda
The Greenlining Institute congratulated Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff today on their victories in Tuesday's Georgia Senate runoff elections. Greenlining President and CEO Debra Gore-Mann made the following statement:
Jan 06, 2021
The Greenlining Institute congratulated Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff today on their victories in Tuesday's Georgia Senate runoff elections. Greenlining President and CEO Debra Gore-Mann made the following statement:
"We congratulate senators-elect Warnock and Ossoff on the confidence Georgians have shown in them. The election of Georgia's first-ever Black U.S. senator, the pastor of Martin Luther King's church, is a truly historic moment, and politicians of all parties should note the decisive role played by voters of color and by Black, Latino and Asian American movement organizers.
"Without the constraints of divided government, this is the time for the Biden-Harris administration and congressional leaders to think big. America can now enact a bold, courageous agenda, an agenda that starts with a real plan to end the pandemic and provide ongoing relief to struggling families and small businesses, but also goes much farther.
"We need strong, decisive action to protect democracy, fight systemic racism, end economic inequality and harness the fight against climate change to build a prosperous, healthy and just economy. The needs have never been greater, but neither has the opportunity. President-elect Biden and congressional leaders must seize this moment, reject half-measures and achieve change on an audacious scale."
To learn more about The Greenlining Institute, visit www.greenlining.org.
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'Property More Valuable Than Human Life': No Charges Against Officers for Killing Breonna Taylor
"Did I hear that correctly? Only one officer is being held remotely accountable, and it's not for killing Breonna Taylor but instead for shooting apartments?"
Sep 23, 2020
Declarations of "true justice denied" went up Wednesday afternoon after a Kentucky grand jury indicted former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison on three counts of first-degree "wanton endangerment" related to the no-knock raid in which Breonna Taylor was killed--with no charges for the murder itself--when three officers burst into her residence and shot the 26-year-old emergency medical technician multiple times earlier this year.
"There will be no justice until all of the officers who killed Breonna are held accountable for her murder."
--UltraViolet
Critics of the grand jury's decision were outraged that Hankison's indictment was not based on the killing of Taylor, who was asleep in her bed when police entered her apartment, but on the firing of bullets into the homes of the victim's neighbors during the raid.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) described the decision as another manifestation of a legal system in which property is considered "more valuable than human life."
\u201cDid I hear that correctly? Only one officer is being held remotely accountable, and it's not for killing Breonna Taylor but instead for shooting apartments? It's never been clearer this country considers property more valuable than human life.\u201d— Rashida Tlaib (@Rashida Tlaib) 1600889297
\u201cOnce again, the law says that property is more valuable than Black life.\n\nWe cannot let up in our fight for justice for Breonna Taylor and every Black and brown person murdered at the hands of police. We will fight to end qualified immunity.\u201d— Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan Omar) 1600885629
Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly--who on Tuesday described protesters as "thugs" and lamented that "the good guys are demonized" in an email sent to approximately 1,000 law enforcement personnel in Louisville--and detective Myles Cosgrove, the two other officers present at the time of the shooting, were not charged.
A reporter at the Louisville Courier Journal shared a video in which a protester asks: "Is that it?"
\u201cProtesters are confused and livid. \u201cIs that it?\u201d Someone asked. #Louisville #BreonnaTaylor\u201d— Hayes Gardner (@Hayes Gardner) 1600882315
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's office shared the findings of its investigation with the grand jury earlier this week. Ahead of Wednesday's announcement, officials in Louisville prepared for additional protests and possible unrest.
In response to the decision in the Breonna Taylor case, Kristina Roth, the senior program officer for Criminal Justice Programs at Amnesty International USA said: "We call on police to facilitate the right to peaceful protest in the wake of this news."
"Everyone has the right to take to the streets and make their voices heard," Roth said. "And police must meet their obligation under international law to enable that right."
Watch AG Cameron's news conference:
In response to the grand jury's decision, Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, put the "horrific killing" of Taylor--which occurred during a "baseless no-knock warrant in a drug investigation"--into the context of the drug war and "its parasitic relationship with police and racism."
"Breonna Taylor should be alive today," said Frederique. "But instead, the systems we have in place... failed her" and "robbed her of the bright future she was just beginning." Frederique placed blame on the drug war, "which provides the military-grade equipment to local police departments through military weapons transfer and earmarked federal funds" and "incentivizes drug arrests."
"Had it not been for the drug war... the police likely would have never gone to her home to begin with," Frederique added.
As Common Dreams reported earlier this month, the city of Louisville agreed to pay Taylor's family $12 million dollars--believed to be the largest settlement ever reached for a black woman killed by a police officer in the U.S.--and to implement several police reforms as part of the wrongful death lawsuit.
At the time, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said: "No amount of money can bring justice. It's time to move forward with the criminal charges that Breonna Taylor's family has called for."
Following Wednesday's announcement, Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, said in a statement:
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and a local grand jury have failed to bring murder charges in the brutal killing of Breonna Taylor. In fact, they have declined to charge officers for her death at all; just one of Bre's killers faces a minor charge completely unrelated to her murder. Officials have flatly denied justice to Bre and her loved ones, as well as the brave allies and activists calling for justice.
Debra Gore-Mann, president and CEO of the Greenlining Institute, said that the limited nature of the charges--"wanton endangerment" for only one of three officers--means that "true justice" has been "denied" to Taylor and her family.
CodePink highlighted that "not a single officer has been charged for the murder of Breonna Taylor."
\u201cBREAKING: A Grand Jury has indicted former Louisville officer Brett Hankison on three felony counts of "wanton endangerment."\n\nNot a single officer has been charged for the murder of Breonna Taylor.\n\nJUSTICE HAS NOT BEEN SERVED. #JusticeForBreonnaTaylor https://t.co/2CDfh62324\u201d— CODEPINK (@CODEPINK) 1600885807
UltraViolet characterized the grand jury's decision as an "insult to the idea of justice," saying it reflected "the pervasiveness of white supremacy and the need to continue to demand justice."
"There will be no justice," the women's rights group added, "until all of the officers who killed Breonna are held accountable for her murder."
"Breonna Taylor's life mattered," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on social media. "This result is a disgrace and an abdication of justice."
"Our criminal justice system is racist," Sanders added. "The time for fundamental change is now."
Amnesty's Roth stated that Taylor's "case must serve as a wake-up call to our elected officials" about the need for "a bold agenda for police reform, one that brings about meaningful accountability, reimagines public safety, and provides justice for all."
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