If only the fallout from California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s destructive progressive policies were limited to California.

Newsom is the latest in a long line of Golden State politicians who’ve been overtly hostile to fossil fuels. In 2022, his office applauded a plan by the California Air Resources Board to cut oil usage by 94 percent by 2045. Achieving that goal requires driving in-state oil refineries out of business. That’s not an unexpected downside. That’s the plan climate extremists have actively pursued.

They’ve already claimed major scalps. In 2024, the Phillips 66 Rodeo refinery completed its conversion from crude oil to renewable diesel. Last year, the Phillips 66 Wilmington refinery closed down. The Valero Benicia refinery is scheduled to close this spring.

This imposes more than just theoretical costs. Reducing California’s refining capacity by another 18 percent will squeeze supply and boost prices at the pump. It could also have ramifications for the availability of propane and jet fuel.

“As we go down, this is not going to be a smooth transition,” Siva Gunda, vice chair of the California Energy Commission, told the California Senate Environmental Quality Committee in February. “Every time you lose a refinery, it’s going to be a double-digit percent of refined fuel lost in California.”

That news is concerning for Nevadans, too. The Silver State receives around 88 percent of its gasoline from California. This is a major reason why Nevada consistently has some of the most expensive prices in America. Its neighbors, Utah and Idaho, typically have much cheaper gas.

To avoid dramatic price spikes, California — and by extension Nevada — now depends on foreign oil.

“So that abrupt transition will mean an abrupt increase in imports that have to come in,” Gunda said. “If the import capacity exists and the market can rely safely on the global refining capacity, then we’ll be OK. But it’s going to be less resilient and that’s something we pointed to in the past.”

If something happens to those imports, look out.

“The kind of conversation last year was we could get to $8 to $10 in gasoline prices last year. I think that was absolutely possible if the imports didn’t show up,” Gunda said. He tacitly acknowledged that President Donald Trump’s energy policies have helped. “We also benefited from lower crude oil prices across the world.”

Note the irony. To reduce carbon emissions, California is strangling its in-state refineries. To avoid the price spikes that would expose the folly of this plan, Newsom is importing oil. It would be one thing if it came by pipeline, but environmentalist groups do everything they can to limit that mode of conveyance. Instead, much of this additional supply comes on oil tankers powered by fossil fuels from foreign countries such as Canada, South Korea and India.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo has expressed concern about Nevada’s vulnerability given its reliance on California’s pipeline. But any solution to the problem would be years down the road.

What a shame that cars, trucks and airplanes can’t run on the duplicity of politicians such as Newsom. Now, that would be a renewable fuel source.

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