CFROG is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year! As part of our ongoing celebration, we’ll be sharing stories from 10 Wins across 10 Years! Stay tuned for more history from the long fight against fossil fuels in Ventura County.
Yesterday, April 9, 2024, our team of community activists — from age 17 to 65+ — spoke out against the weakening of policies meant to protect public health from oil and gas pollution in Ventura County. After years filled with multiple lawsuits, a multi-million dollar ballot initiative to undue common-sense permitting regulation, and the seating of politicians financially backed by oil money, the fossil fuel industry got a small win. The Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to settle with industry and add “if feasible” to policies meant to protect us from diesel oil trucking and flaring pollution — introducing a pathway for oil companies to maintain the “business as usual” status quo. But as we do, CFROG will be monitoring each and every application to ensure the highest level of compliance with these regulations.
But let’s rewind eight years, to the same hearing room…
President Trump had just withdrawn the United States from the Paris Agreement, ceasing all climate change mitigation activities required by the international agreement. His argument was that the agreement would “undermine” the U.S. economy and put the U.S. “at a permanent disadvantage.” We heard similar talking points just this week.
CFROG and partners like Indivisible Ojai took action to protect Ventura County communities and environment from falling behind as a result of this major national misstep. We organized with elected leaders and dozens of community members to commit Ventura County itself to the Paris Climate Agreement and a 15 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels. As Supervisor Bennett (now Assemblymember) presented a graph with California GDP rising as emissions decreased, the evident need to educate everyone that our entire society — from economics to social justice — benefits from climate action and the reduction of fossil fuel became clear.
Just 13 days after the Trump administration announced the national withdrawal, this vote made Ventura County a leader in the movement of local cities and counties upholding climate action. A few years later, thanks to strong community advocacy, the county would increase its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 61 percent below 2015 levels by 2040 as part of the General Plan.
In the past eight years, CFROG activists have been in hearing rooms across the county countless times. We’ve pushed for local climate action plans, clean energy adoption, the closing of fossil fuel infrastructure, and public health protections. We know that better decisions are made when those most impacted are involved in their design. We’ve had many incredible successes, and some difficult setbacks, but the goal remains the same: a livable future in Ventura County.