As Californians grapple with soaring fuel costs in the wake of the U.S. strike on Iran, Governor Gavin Newsom is considering a sweeping climate measure that critics warn could shutter the states last remaining refineries and drive prices even higher.
According to Conservative Daily News, the California Air Resources Board has advanced major amendments to the states Cap-and-Invest program, which sets emissions caps for refineries and forces them to purchase allowances if they exceed those limits. The proposal would revoke 118 million metric tons of emissions allowances, dramatically tightening an already burdensome regulatory regime on in-state fuel producers.
Industry leaders are warning that the move could be the final blow to Californias refining sector, which is already operating under some of the most stringentand costlyrules in the world. The proposed regulation will cripple the survivability of the states remaining refineries, which will result in California losing the entire industry to this misguided program, Chevron wrote Monday in a letter to the governor.
California drivers already pay the highest gasoline prices in the nation, often $1 to $2 more per gallon than the national average, largely due to state taxes and regulations layered onto the cost of doing business. When an X user pointed out that comparable regulations were driving up gasoline prices in California, Newsoms press account called them a ding dong and attributed high costs to Trumps war with Iran.
California refineries are already among the most expensive refineries to operate in the world, Marathon Petroleum Corporation noted in their letter to Newsom. Marathon further warned that the proposed regulations are forcing refineries to reconsider whether operations in California remain viable.
Valero has already taken a $1 billion write-down to close its Benicia Refinery, underscoring how state policy is steadily eroding domestic refining capacity and leaving consumers exposed to global shocks. As gas prices spike, Newsom has chosen to deflect blame to Washington, even tweeting Great work, @realDonaldTrump, while his own regulatory agenda threatens to deepen the crisis for working families who can least afford it.
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