As California feels the heat of climate change, will Gov. Gavin Newsom do more than tweet?

Is Gov. Gavin Newsom a climate leader — or just a climate tweeter?

In the aftermath of extreme, climate change-driven wildfires that have choked California’s air with smoke, Newsom has taken to making regular tweet declarations on the issue. Among his favorite refrains: “Climate change is real.”

In a state where most people accept climate science, however, who is he trying to convince?

Newsom’s tweets frustrate some California climate activists who see them as “performative.” They say his vague expressions of concern can’t mask what they see as a reticence to take bold actions to address the climate crisis. They say Newsom has backtracked on a campaign promise to ban fracking and is hesitating to implement health buffer zones between fossil fuel drilling sites and communities.

“When I interviewed all of the candidates running for governor in the primary, what Newsom told me was that he simply wanted to implement Jerry Brown’s climate plans,” said RL Miller, who chairs the California Democratic Party’s environmental caucus.

Miller said Newsom’s answer left her worried that he would avoid making his own bold moves to advance California’s leadership on global warming solutions.

“Everything that I’ve seen since then has confirmed that very initial early impression, except that Newsom doesn’t even have the zeal for climate that Jerry Brown can display,” Miller said.

The governor’s climate advisors say Newsom’s lack of zeal does not signify a lack of action. They say he is working behind the scenes to implement the historic climate policies set in motion by leaders like Brown, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former California State Senate President pro tem Kevin de León.

“Getting 90% lower standards for diesel emissions from trucks is huge,” said California Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Jared Blumenfeld. “Moving towards electric vehicles and setting that standard is incredibly important. And are they a continuation towards the goal of getting to carbon neutrality by 2045? Yes. But are we doing more than any other jurisdiction in the world? I would say we are when it comes to oil and gas.”

California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot says it’s too early to judge Newsom’s climate record. Crowfoot earned international fame on Monday after he baited President Donald Trump into stupidly saying that global warming will “start getting cooler.” But it’s easier to score points against Trump than it is to score points with climate activists who believe the governor is dragging his feet.

Crowfoot said Newsom — who in 2019 acknowledged “the need for careful study and planning to decrease demand and supply of fossil fuels” — is focusing on significant long-term climate goals.

“I understand where activists are coming from on the overall practice,” said Crowfoot, referring to fracking. “To me, the more interesting and much more important question is how we manage the decline [of fossil fuels] in the state as demand reduces. Ultimately, the most important thing we need to do is to demonstrate we can actually grow our economy and reduce emissions in order to actually transition from fossil fuels.”

Blumenfeld and Crowfoot both said the next few months will be critical because the governor expects to receive a landmark study of the state’s fossil fuel supply and demand. Three University of California schools conducted the study.

“Hopefully, they will illuminate a pathway to set these targets to reduce supply as demand is reduced,” Crowfoot said.

Crowfoot said the state will soon determine whether health and safety buffer zones around drilling sites are necessary. Activists have pressured Newsom to require 2500-foot health and safety setbacks around drilling sites in areas with homes and schools.

“Excuse me…how many more frickin’ studies does the governor need?” asked Miller. “What is he going to do? Study whether we’re in an emergency right now? Study whether the state is burning down around his ears?”

“If he believes in climate change, if he supports racial justice, then why is he continuing to sacrifice our health to keep drilling for California oil?” asked Nalleli Cobo, a 19-year-old activist who grew up near an oil drilling site in South Los Angeles.

Newsom raised the hopes of climate activists early on by imposing a moratorium on new fracking permits and shaking up the state’s oil regulation division. Now, Newsom has lifted the moratorium and critics say he’s allowed a new boom in drilling and fracking permits. The Newsom administration says it has issued only 48 new fracking permits this year, down from an annual average of over 200 in the previous three years. Only five frack jobs have actually been conducted, said Crowfoot.

The oil industry, meanwhile, rejects the idea that Californians can break their fossil fuel dependency any time soon.

“The immediate cessation of all oil and gas operations would not only lead to an insurmountable energy shortage, it would cripple our ability to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of millions,” said Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president of the Western States Petroleum Association, in a press release.

No one suggests an immediate shutoff of California’s oil spigots. But how can Newsom continue to decry the unfolding climate disaster without pursuing a more formidable response?

“California rightly wants and needs other politicians around the world to change policies to limit the climate crisis,” said Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org, a leading climate group. “But that’s harder to demand when Newsom won’t bite the (relatively small) bullet and stop granting new permits for oil drilling in California. Why are other leaders supposed to take difficult actions if he won’t?”

In 2020, most Californians experienced global warming as a present reality rather than a future worry. In 2021, they’ll find out whether Newsom — who has called California’s response to global warming “inadequate” — aims to address this unfolding emergency with policies or with platitudes.

This story was originally published September 19, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "As California feels the heat of climate change, will Gov. Gavin Newsom do more than tweet?."