Democrat California Governor Gavin Newsom promised to crush “big oil” in a lawsuit he filed against five large oil companies after flying a jet to a “Climate Week” event in New York City.
The California Governor’s office wrote on X, formerly Twitter:
“California is taking on Big Oil and holding them accountable for decades of deception and lies about climate change,” Newsom said.
“At #ClimateWeekNYC, Governor @GavinNewsom spoke with @dgelles about our lawsuit against five of the world’s largest oil companies and their subsidiaries.”
Earlier this month, Newsom announced that California is suing Exxon, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and BP for “lying about the dangers of fossil fuels” and contributing to climate change.
The lawsuit alleges that these five companies have created a delayed response to the “climate crisis” and deceived people on the usage of fossil fuels.
“Governor Newsom should be added as a co-defendant to his own lawsuit,” the US Oil and Gas Association wrote on X in response to Newsom’s remarks.
“This weekend the Gov unnecessarily flew 1000s of miles, burning 1000s of gallons of jet fuel to hold a press conference in NYC to announce he was suing the companies that make it possible for him to fly 1000s of miles and burn 1000s of gallons of jet fuel in support his lifestyle and political activism,” the post said of Newsom.
However, climate critics highlighted that those the most vocal advocates for climate change often fly private jets.
Two of the main culprits of this hypocrisy are Climate czar John Kerry and Al Gore, who have massive carbon footprints, who both leave enormous carbon footprints.
We can now add Newsom to that list after he traveled via a private jet or flew on a commercial airliner.
Other examples of politicians and celebrities flying by private jet while being the most significant contributors to climate change were noted by Time Magazine last year.
Other examples include Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian.
According to the data collection website Yard, Swift used her private jet, a $40 million Dassault Falcon 900, for 170 flights between January and June 2022.
Taylor’s jet had an average flight time of merely 80 minutes, an average of 139.36 miles per flight.
Meanwhile, Kardashian flies a Gulfstream G650ER, a $61 million jet that allows the plane to fly at Mach .9, nearly the speed of sound.
Earlier this week, Newsom also announced he would sign a climate bill requiring thousands of major US companies to publish their greenhouse gas emissions on their websites.
In the last campaign cycle, Newsom received over $675,800 in political donations from “clean” energy companies.
Newsom’s proposed legislation would require companies with more than $1 billion to disclose their “emissions of greenhouse gases, criteria pollutants, and toxic air contaminants for each facility,” per the bill.
The California Chamber of Commerce said the act is “a costly mandate that will negatively impact businesses of all sizes in California and will not directly reduce emissions.”
“The fact that a single state like California would do this is both potentially troubling and potentially promising,” Harvard Environmental Economics Director Robert Stavins told Just The News.
“It could be the case that a company that is valued at $1 billion has $35 of activity in California but is nevertheless affected,” he added.
Stavins said that if more states adopted similar laws, it would help environmental regulation nationwide.
As The Daily Fetched reported in August, forty percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States come from 10% of the country’s wealthiest households, according to research published in PLOS Climate.
PLOS Climate is an open-access journal that aims to advance the understanding of climatic patterns, processes, and impacts with open research from diverse perspectives.
According to the study, which analyzed household income data from 1990 to 2019, 40% of total US emissions were associated with income flows to the highest earning 10% of households,” while GHG emissions among the bottom 90% had decreased.
It also adds that income from the top 1% was “linked” to upwards of 17% of GHG emissions.
The progressive researchers’ study suggested remedying this “emissions inequality” via “an alternative income or shareholder-based carbon tax.”
READ: John Kerry: People Need to Live under Strict Climate Mandates for a “Better Quality of Life”
