WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — California’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are being undermined by the state’s efforts to encourage the production of dirty oil, the CBD said.
"California is tarnishing its climate leadership by encouraging oil companies to extract millions of barrels a year of some of the planet’s dirtiest crude," CBD Climate Science Director Shaye Wolf wrote in the report. "Our state’s huge reserve of dirty crude is a loaded gun pointed at our future. We can’t let the oil industry pull the trigger."
FACT: Eight of California's 10 largest producing oil fields produce very dirty crude comparable to Canada's tar sands crude and diluted bitumen. https://t.co/ovJCDKWyZk pic.twitter.com/meXf6BlwPX
— Center for Bio Div (@CenterForBioDiv) 9 ноября 2017 г.
The report explained that California is currently the third-largest oil-producing state, having some of the strictest pollution-limiting requirements in the United States, but the report has emphasized that state subsidies of oil companies belie the state’s environmental-friendly image.
It is said that tax breaks, weak regulation along with minimal oversight encourage aggressive oil development in the state, with California regulators issuing more than 3,300 drilling permits for oil and gas wells in 2015 alone, according to the report.