California lawmakers and environmental advocates aimed to pass a bill requiring large oil and gas companies to pay for climate change damages. The legislation stalled amidst heavy lobbying from the oil industry, which spent millions to oppose it. The proposed bill would target major polluters responsible for over a billion metric tons of greenhouse gases and would have mandated a cost study to assess contributions to a state fund. Opponents argued it could lead to increased gas prices and unfairly penalize legal oil production.
The bill would have directed the California Environmental Protection Agency to identify the state's largest polluters, those responsible for more than a billion metric tons of greenhouse gases between 1990 and 2024.
We had fewer oil bills come forward this year, and they absolutely put a target on this one. When you have this kind of money being spent by the oil industry, it is challenging.
Jim Stanley of the Western States Petroleum Association said the legislation would likely raise gas prices and retroactively punish companies for providing a legal product.
The Western States Petroleum Association spent nearly $3.5 million on lobbying in the first quarter of 2025, and Chevron spent more than $3.7 million.
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