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Trump Tours CA Wildfires, Climate Justice Groups Call Out Devastation of “Drill Baby Drill” Agenda [1]
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Date: 2025-01-25
Below is the press release from the Last Chance Alliance regarding Trump’s visit to California to tour areas ravaged by the LA Fires:
Press Release from the Last Chance Alliance 1/24/25:
Experts say that California’s “climate whiplash,” which contributed to the devastating wildfires which ravaged communities across Los Angeles County this month, is a result of fossil fuel-driven climate change, according to a press release from the Last Chance Alliance.
“These fires, which have already caused billions in damages, are emblematic of a broader crisis fueled by the fossil fuel industry’s relentless pursuit of profit at the expense of public health, public safety, and the environment,” the Alliance stated.
“What has happened in Los Angeles is not just a tragedy—it’s a warning,” said Zachary Norris, California Climate Director at Greenpeace USA. “These wildfires, driven by fierce winds and drought, are just the beginning for our planet in a climate emergency. Fires and extreme weather are growing uncontrollably because of Big Oil’s unchecked emissions, which continue to accelerate climate change.”
Even as President Donald Trump tours the L.A. neighborhoods devastated by the recent fires, he is promising a ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ agenda that would only compound the climate conditions driving a surge in extreme weather and wildfire damage. Unlike past bipartisan efforts to provide disaster relief, congressional Republicans have suggested tying much-needed aid to conditions, playing politics with people’s homes, health, livelihoods, and even their lives. In the wake of these fires that have cost so many so much, environmental justice and climate advocates are demanding greater accountability from fossil fuel companies and, given Trump’s abandonment of already-inadequatefederal climate policies, they are calling on state elected leaders to set a bold, environmental justice focused agenda for addressing climate that is people first and community-driven.
“As a climate lawyer displaced by the Eaton Fire, my stomach turns at Trump bringing his misinformation and environmental mayhem to Los Angeles,” said Maya Golden-Krasner, deputy director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute. “Trump is bought and paid for by Big Oil and his plans will supercharge the climate-fueled disasters I’ve seen ravage my community. It’s crucial that California counters Trump and his oil industry cronies with a climate superfund bill that shifts some of this disaster’s multibillion-dollar burden off Californians to the polluters who set the stage for this horrific mess.”
“Trump’s visit to LA was an insult to California wildfire victims. It came just days after he signed a slew of executive orders that aim to boost profits for fossil fuel executives, pollute our air, water, and climate, and make California more likely to experience out-of-control wildfires. Each of these executive orders will enrich fossil fuel CEOs at the expense of working Americans, like the thousands of Angelenos who lost their homes. With Trump in the White House, it’s time for Governor Newsom to take charge of protecting California communities from climate disasters. That means ending permitting for oil and gas drilling in California, making polluters pay for these climate damages, and implementing a just and rapid transition to renewable energy, ” says Allie Rosenbluth, Oil Change International US Campaign Manager.
Californians face an unprecedented and escalating financial burden from the fossil fuel industry for the harm they have caused to residents on the frontlines of oil drilling and for the devastating impacts of climate change,” the Alliance wrote. “One potential pathway to meet this challenge is state legislation that assigns a fee to the largest fossil fuel emitters to pay their fair share of the damage they caused with their products. Polling from last year shows 70% of California voters support requiring fossil fuel companies to help pay for climate disaster costs through a climate superfund bill. Funds could be directed to disadvantaged communities hit hardest by fossil fuel pollution and could help with measures to protect people from wildfires such as home hardening in at-risk areas.
“Barely a week into the new year, and fire season is here. This is not normal,” said Ben Jealous, Executive Director of the Sierra Club. “Time and again, we are witnessing fossil fuel-driven climate change heighten extreme weather, making wildfires increasingly common and increasingly destructive. We cannot be passive. We cannot elevate misinformation about what is needed to confront the worsening crisis. Leaders must take the action necessary to fund and support the home hardening efforts that make our communities resilient.”
The impacts of climate change in California are made worse by the daily pollution produced from oil production. Even after years of advocacy led by the communities most impacted by fossil fuel pollution in the state, California remains one of the leading oil producers in the nation. Statewide permitting for new oil drilling is drastically down, but local jurisdictions like Kern County aim to rubberstamp thousands of new oil wells and producers are turning to extreme extraction techniques to access declining reserves. Ongoing extraction and refining operations constitute a public health and environmental justice emergency.
“Communities are getting burned on both the front and backend of oil and gas extraction. At the point of drilling, communities have been sacrifice zones for generations, paying for Big Oil’s profits with their health, said Cesar Aguirre of Central California Environmental Justice Network, a member of the VISIÓN Coalition. “Now, on the backend of all the extraction, communities must deal with climate change impacts – from lost jobs and displacement to living in fear of the next climate disaster. For decades, frontline residents have been screaming for our elected officials to wake up and put an end to this dirty industry that will only continue to fuel more harm and destruction. These fires exemplify why we cannot wait another day for bold, decisive action. We are calling on California’s Governor to step up now and lead, not just with words, but with a real plan driven by community needs that once and for all puts the health and safety of people over corporate profits.”
The state has also been ground zero for fossil fuel companies disinformation campaigns. For decades fossil fuel companies have known that their products would have catastrophic impacts on the environment and communities. Archival documents reveal how L.A. was the testing ground for Big Oil’s climate deception playbook during the 1940s and ’50s.
Since then they have spent millions of dollars in California suppressing scientific findings to downplay risks, creating industry front groups to fight common sense public health laws, and influencing California politics. Meanwhile, giants like ExxonMobil and Chevron are reporting record-breaking profits. Last year alone, these companies raked in a staggering $57 billion, even as they exploited tax loopholes that cost California taxpayers up to $146 million annually.
“Big Oil executives have known for decades that fossil fuels would lead to climate crisis,” said Barry Vesser, Chief Operating Officer for The Climate Center, a California-based policy nonprofit. “Instead of acting to protect public health, they lied and spent millions on deceptive PR campaigns to continue raking in massive profits. The climate disasters we are experiencing today — including the Los Angeles fires — are a direct consequence of fossil fuel greed. We urge Governor Newsom to make Big Oil, not working Californians, pay for the cost of recovering and rebuilding from the fires.”
As California once again emerges as the counterpunch to federal policy aimed at enriching corporate interests at the expense of communities and the climate, advocates are urging state leaders to meet this critical moment. They are calling on officials to hold Big Oil accountable for the pollution they cause and undo their outsized influence on our political system. By taking bold action, California can move beyond fossil fuels and set a powerful example for the rest of the nation.
“Communities in California are paying the ultimate price while corporations rake in record profits. Every year, the state spends billions on recovery, while the insurance market teeters on the edge of collapse as private insurers face skyrocketing damages from fires and other climate disasters. It’s unconscionable that Big Oil made $281 billion since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022,” said Dominic Frongillo, Elected Officials to Protect America Executive Director and Co-Founder. “There is a better way. A Superfund Act, like one that just passed in New York, would make multinational fossil fuel companies that are responsible for, and profiting from, the climate emergency start paying their fair share. Taxpayers should never have to pay billions of dollars for climate crisis disasters brought on because of the deceitful oil and gas industry. It’s time for the corporations responsible for the destruction to be held accountable.”
“It is unconscionable that Trump and the GOP are politicizing these devastating wildfires by attempting to make relief contingent on endorsing their billionaire agenda,” said Food & Water Watch California Director Nicole Ghio. “If Trump is truly interested in supporting Angelinos, he should start by accepting that climate change is real instead of rolling back our country’s climate policies and doubling down on his support of the fossil fuel industry, whose rampant pollution helps to create the perfect conditions for these megadisasters in the first place.”
Update: Big Oil sponsors dinners and awards receptions for journalists
One of the biggest and most censored stories of the past few years is the increasingly cozy relationship between the oil industry and journalists and journalist organizations in California.
In 2023 and 2024, the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), the largest and most powerful corporate lobbying group in California and the West, sponsored several dinners and awards receptions for journalists. This article will review those efforts by the oil industry to curry favor with journalists, as well as examples of collaboration between Big Media and Big Oil in previous years. In one of the clearest examples of the collaboration between Big Oil and the media, the Western States Petroleum Association, the largest and most powerful oil industry lobbying group in California and the West, sponsored a “media dinner” on February 28, 2023, in Sacramento as part of #BizFedSactoDays. The flyer for the event stated, “Journalists who play an outsize role in shaping narratives about state politics and holding lawmakers accountable will join business leaders to pull back the curtain on how they select and tell stories about California policies, policy and power.” Featured speakers at the program included Colleen Nelson of the Sacramento Bee, Laurel Rosenhall of the Los Angeles Times, Kaitlyn Schallhorn of the Orange County Register and Dan Walters of Cal Matters. In a tweet, Catherine Reheis-Boyd, President of the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) and former Chair of the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative Blue Ribbon Task Force to create “marine protected areas” in Southern California, gushed: “One of our favorite times of year is #BizFedSactoDays- when @BizFed helps amplify the presence and power of business in California. And we're honored to host the Media Dinner and featured media speakers! @DanCALmatters @LaurelRosenhall@ColleenMNelson @K_Schallhorn” The Western States Petroleum Association sponsored the media dinner again this year on June 3, 2024 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the WSPA headquarters in Sacramento. On X, formerly Twitter, @BizFed proudly proclaimed: “Journalists and business advocates. We have more in common than you might think. It all boils down to people and their stories. What a privilege to host guest journalists @conanNBCLA @davelesher @Elex_Michaelson, and @EytanWallace at our BizFed Media Dinner in Sacramento.” WSPA, the largest and most powerful corporate lobbying group in Sacramento, describes itself as “non-profit trade association that represents companies that account for the bulk of petroleum exploration, production, refining, transportation and marketing in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.” WSPA teams up with Sacramento Press Club on awards reception The Sacramento Press Club has also teamed up with WSPA. On March 16, 2023, the Sacramento Press Club announced in a tweet that WSPA was the new “Lede Sponsor” of the Club's Journalism Awards Reception that was held on March 29: “Thank you to our new Lede Sponsor @officialWSPA! WSPA is dedicated to guaranteeing that every American has access to reliable energy options through socially, economically and environmentally responsible policies and regulations. Learn more more at
http://wspa.org” In response to this tweet, investigative journalist Aaron Cantu tweeted back on March 20, “As the recipient of @SacPressClub ’s environmental award last year, it’s concerning to see fossil fuel industry talking points passed off uncritically here. WSPA becoming lede sponsor happened in the context of a global PR turn as the climate crisis worsens.” Unfortunately, Cantu is the only journalist other than me with the integrity to contest the sponsorship of the Sacramento Press Club’s Journalism Awards Reception by WSPA. In 2024 the Western States Petroleum Association was again one of the “lede sponsors” of the Sacramento Press Club’s Annual Journalism Awards Reception on April 11. Sammy Roth of the Los Angeles Times won the “impact in journalism” award, while Doni Chamberlin of A News Cafe won the “courage in journalism” award. You can see the list of award winners here: sacpressclub.org/… And this time, no other journalist than this one had the courage and integrity to criticize the sponsorship of a journalism awards reception by WSPA at a time of increasing collaboration between the media and the oil and gas industry. The date and location for this year’s awards reception hasn’t been announced yet: sacpressclub.org/... WSPA sponsors beat dinner for Society of Environmental Journalists In addition to sponsoring journalism events in California, WSPA has expanded its campaign to influence journalists nationally. WSPA and the controversial waste management firm Veolia North America sponsored events at 2023’s Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) conference in Boise, Idaho, according to a report from DeSmog: scq.io/... “The agenda for the conference, which is being hosted in Boise, Idaho, shows that the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) and the waste management company Veolia North America are sponsoring two of the “beat dinners” hosted on Friday, April 21 — the third day of the event,” the article by Sam Bright reported. Fortunately, WSPA and Veolia’s sponsorships of the SEJ conference spurred condemnation by at least one group, Fossil Free Media. “There’s no excuse for these sorts of conflicts of interest,” Jamie Henn of the campaign and communications group Fossil Free Media told Bright. “By letting the fossil fuel industry sponsor events, groups like SEJ lend credibility to bad actors” that are attempting to “influence coverage and maintain their social license by pretending to be well-meaning supporters of the free press.” For years, I have covered the capture of media outlets, journalists, politicians, regulators and environmental NGOs by the fossil fuel industry in California and the West. ‘Readers for Sale: The Media's Role in Climate Delay’ In 2023, it was good to see somebody else beside this journalist step up to the plate on a national and global level on exposing the increasing collaboration between Big Oil and media corporations.
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