Threat of $8-a-Gallon Gas Forces Newsom to Court Big Oil (1)

Last year, Governor Gavin Newsom stood before Californians and declared the oil industry the “polluted heart of this climate crisis.” Big Oil, he said, was lying, manipulating and profiteering. “They’re screwing you,” he added, after signing a bill to bolster oversight.

Months later, one of Newsom’s top energy regulators was dispatched on a plane to America’s petroleum heartland, on a mission to placate the oil companies threatening to flee California.

Newsom, a Democrat in his second and final term, is making a remarkable shift in his approach after leading a yearslong crusade against fossil fuels — which may have ended ...