Gas prices, Sacramento, CA April 3, 2025. (Photo: Katy Grimes for California Globe)
Chevron Warns of Irreversible Harm to California’s Economy and Energy Security in Letter to Newsom
Democrats and Gavin Newsom stubbornly cling to carbon taxing – not because they are true believers – because it’s a revenue-generating tax
By Katy Grimes, March 4, 2026 8:47 am
Chevron just sent a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Air Resources Board warning them of deep concerns and strong opposition to the CARB- proposed amendments to the Cap-and-Invest (formerly cap and trade) regulation, that the state’s few remaining refineries can’t survive, and the California economy could be crippled.
“The proposed regulation will cripple the survivability of the state’s remaining refineries, which will result in California losing the entire industry to this misguided program. This regulation will increase transportation and aviation fuel prices for consumers. It will risk significant job losses, including many high-paying union jobs, while reducing funding for essential public services. It will upend California’s fuels market and threaten critical energy and national security assets.”
Over the weekend, the Globe reported that PBF Energy Inc. also warned CARB about “the stark reality the impacts the current CARB Cap & Investment program would have because of the state’s remaining 7 refineries. And, CARB’s “Proposed Amendments will only worsen the current state of the program, making costs skyrocket further. If enacted as written, the Proposed Amendments will inevitably drive in-state refining capacity to zero.”
The gist of Chevron’s message to the governor and Air Resources Board is that California’s economy and energy security cannot survive another refinery shutdown.
What is Cap and Invest (formerly cap and trade)?
California’s cap-and-trade (invest) program places a “cap” on aggregate greenhouse gas emissions from businesses and utilities deemed “polluters” by the California Air Resources Board, which the CARB dubiously claims are responsible for most of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has taken a great deal of liberty, particularly with its interpretation of AB 32, California’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The CARB devised the cap-and-trade system whereby it holds a quarterly auction program requiring selected California employers to bid significant amounts of money for the privilege of continuing to pollute — or be faced with closing their doors.
The Air Resources Board issues carbon allowances, and businesses are forced to buy or sell these in the open market. Several other countries including Spain and Australia have already acknowledged carbon taxing does not work, but California’s Air Resources Board, Democrats, and Gavin Newsom stubbornly continue on with carbon taxing – not because they are true believers – because it’s a revenue-generating tax.
The CARB continues to push for more stringent regulations and taxes on California businesses and taxpayers, and lie that the goal is a reduction in greenhouse gasses. This is just another sizable tax on businesses. And instead of actually reducing carbon emissions through the cap and trade program, a business can merely purchase the get-out-of-jail credits to be able to continue (polluting) doing business.
It’s really just a shakedown of California businesses.
Oil and gas and energy producers warn that the CARB’s latest proposed regulations will increase costs on all refiners will devastate the state’s energy economy.
In the letter, Chevron President Andy Walz cautions that the price of gasoline will increase by more than a dollar a gallon by 2030 as a result of this regulatory change, as well as 536,770 petroleum industry jobs could be lost in the state if CARB’s proposal is authorized.
Walz continues:
The California energy industry’s economic, industrial, environmental, and national security benefits have been the foundation of a healthy, prosperous state and nation. Adversarial policies at local, regional and state levels have eroded that foundation. These proposed regulatory changes threaten to destroy it. Chevron urges policymakers and regulators to reconsider and revise the proposed regulation before it causes lasting and irreversible harm to California’s economy and energy security and broader vital American interests.
As the Globe has reported for years, CARB operates like no other state agency. The rogue agency conducts its business in private, without the scrutiny of the public it is accountable to. Despite legislative and public outrage over the shroud of secrecy at CARB, then-Assembly Speaker John Perez was said to have crafted the language for SB 1018, which specifically exempted CARB from open meeting rules in cap-and-trade auctions, allowing CARB’s WCI Inc. to manage carbon trading auctions without any public scrutiny.
Gov. Newsom says CARB’s cap and trade “puts cap‑and‑trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health — particularly among communities and households facing greater economic and environmental challenges.” But it’s really a shakedown of businesses the CARB deems “polluters” to pay for their unproved climate programs across the state.
And now Newsom, CARB and Democrats are about to crash California’s economy.
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A California native and Navy mom, Katy lives in Sacramento, CA.
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California Governor, Gavin Newscum and the Sacramento politicians and CARB, do not have the capacity to listen to anyone but their own inner thoughts of raping this state and killing every aspect of the economy. This is a George Soros trained governor trained to destroy the State of California, who appoints CARB members, then tells CARB to destroy every industry there is in California. Then Newscum will run for president of the USA and create a national CARB Department to destroy the USA also. The price of fuel in California will destroy the home insurance industry and car insurance industry, and kill the middle and lower class real fast. Thank you CARB for helping to destroy California.
CARB is the poster-child for the UNELECTED BUREAUCRATS that implement the unpopular policies that HARM the state’s residents (both LEGAL and ILLEGAL) via their shady revenue-raising schemes like this “Cap and Trade/Invest/Steal/whatever” program….
Like so many other of Newsom’s shady dealings, this one is amongst the SHADIEST as there is NO ACCOUNTABILITY of this “Board” to any constituents, and there is NO WAY that the citizenry can recall, or even COMMUNICATE WITH these UNELECTED bureaucrats…
They are TRULY the epitome of “taxation without representation” and CARB should be defanged and dissolved, so that such schemes should be discussed PUBLICLY and with FULL TRANSPARENCY so that the public can monitor the decisions that are discussed and evaluated.
“Gov. Newsom says CARB’s cap and trade ‘puts cap‑and‑trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health — particularly among communities and households facing greater economic and environmental challenges.’ ”
Tell us another fairytale Newscum. None of that is true.
Democraps love to talk about clean air, but instead push things to destroy it, marijuana use for example. Been to Los Angeles recently? The air is filthy with toxic marijuana smoke everywhere. We might as well go back to putting lead in gasoline.
The next governor needs to replace the entire CARB Board, and gut the organization. CARB has outlived its usefulness. We have plenty of Federal regulations to keep air clean.
Protect Freedom – The air is filthy with poisonous vape, too, which vape is HIGHLY ADDICTIVE for the vaper. Am dealing, at the moment, with a nightmare of two compulsively constant vapers in a next door rental —- a house, mind you, in a single-family neighborhood—-who have all-but-obliterated our home life and, after long exposure, are beginning to seriously affect my respiratory health.
Marijuana is poison, it stinks to high heaven —- even more so the modern version — it kills motivation and work ethic, etc. Its stink and unwanted effects blanket neighborhoods and communities with its filth.
Same with vape, in addition to irreversible lung damage — quickly — for many users, and similar if not as dramatic effects for the secondhand inhaler of it. It has really toxic chemicals in it; it is not benign as many seem to believe. Some people are “allergic,” for lack of a better word and cannot tolerate it. I’m in that camp. And even though vape is supposed to be a stimulant it also kills work ethic and motivation, because anecdotally I have noticed that those who are addicted to vape cannot stop doing it long enough to get anything done or go to work. It also increases depression and anxiety in the user instead of lifting it.
Neither of these substances should have EVER been legalized in the first place. They are much more destructive — on so many levels — than most people know or even think they are. It will be a tall order to get rid of them now that we’ve let them in.
California energy policies create a national security problem for our 41 military bases consuming thousands of gallons of jet fuel and diesel everyday. Because there are no pipelines, and fewer refineries, we ship in fuel from India and the Bahamas. India buys from Russia. In case of a conflict with China, which would disrupt shipping, we would run dry in days, rendering our military defense inert.
IS this part of Newsom’s plan with Xi to destroy us?
Part of a multi-faceted plan to cede most of California’s resources to the CCP/Xi – starting with the 2020 “billion dollar/no-bid PPE contract with CCP conglomerate BYD, the BYD electric bus contracts that failed, Newsom’s trip to China & the Great Wall photo-op/check/order collecting trip and the disastrous water policies that are bankrupting farmers & ranchers in the Central Valley….
Now this….
Trump needs to ratchet up his investigations of California fraud in all of its machinations before this state is too far gone – this DOES have military-readiness implications at the Federal level….
If Chevron closes their refineries we are al up S*** Creek! Maybe then there will be enough termoil to cause people to rise up, but I doubt it.
Cap’n Trade = Cap’n Invest = Economic Treason
The budget crisis that is quietly, incrementally emerging throughout the state can probably be traced back to Newsom’s curtailing of a $65 billion industry that provides employment for all levels from high school dropouts to PhD’s: petroleum.
When you take into account how much of his Newsom’s business empire (FatJack aka PlumpJack) has been financed by the Getty oil family, it’s not unreasonable to label him an oligarch who feel only a few people should be allowed to benefit from oil profits. I don’t he realizes that the bottle of overrated, overpriced FatJack wine, or overpriced, overrated food from his restaurants were financed by oil workers in Kern County.
Well then folks, let’s hope that —- for once —- our reckless, insane, and stupid “leadership” (Newsom et al) and their hand-picked money-laundering unelected bureaucracies (CARB, et al) heed Chevron’s warning before California collapses economically! What a nightmare.
Irreversible Harm. Newscum just threw a party and invited China and Iran.