Elected officials continue to urge Newsom to phase out fossil fuels

More than 300 bi-partisan mayors, supervisors and elected officials from 49 counties are urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a climate emergency. In total, 35 elected officials from Sonoma County and all five Sonoma City Council members have signed a letter that asks Newsom to “show love for California” and enact a plan to phase out the production and burning of oil and gas in California. Local signees of the letter include Mayor Logan Harvey and Sonoma City Council members Amy Harrington, Madolyn Agrimonti, Rachel Hundley and David Cook.

On Valentine’s Day in Sacramento, officials representing the signees delivered their letter to Gov. Newsom and highlighted policies local governments are enacting to phase out fossil fuel production and burning.

Gov. Newsom’s recent moratorium on new fracking permits and partial moratorium on steam-injection oil drilling is important, but is only a first step, according to the letter from the group, which signed off collectively as Elected Officials to Protect California. The group has made similar entreaties to Newsom since he took office in January, 2019.

The letter urges the governor to immediately stop issuing permits for all new oil and gas drilling, enact 2,500-foot public health setbacks from any ongoing drilling, and fast-track the transition to 100 percent clean, renewable energy in all sectors.

Fires are only one sign of the growing devastation Californians are experiencing while the state fails to take emergency action, according to the letter. As the effects of the climate crisis mount, Californians will suffer more droughts, coastal erosion, and deadly heat waves. Extreme weather conditions will also overwhelm infrastructure and put countless lives at risk. The UN has stated we only have 10 years to transition to clean renewable energy to avert the extreme climate events from becoming the norm.

Read the list of all the elected officials who signed the letter at californiaelectedofficials.org.