While many communities and businesses (even some oil and gas giants) are investing in renewable energy and divesting from oil and gas, the city of Fullerton purchased a new investment of $600,000 in Exxon Mobile CORP in August 2019 with a maturity date of  August 6, 2022.

Public records request submitted by The Observer to the City regarding oil investments.

City response to public records request.

The United States unveiled a plan on Nov 2 to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas operations that threaten the environment and public health. The proposed new Clean Air Act rule would lead to significant, cost-effective reductions in methane emissions and other health-harming air pollutants that endanger communities, including Fullerton.

The Biden administration’s methane strategy will also include a new proposal by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration requiring companies to monitor and repair leaks on about 400,000 miles (643,740 km) of previously unregulated natural gas gathering lines.

In a press release, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he will move the state further away from its reliance on climate change-causing fossil fuels while retaining and creating jobs and spurring economic growth. He issued an executive order requiring sales of all new passenger vehicles to be zero-emission by 2035 and additional measures to eliminate harmful emissions from the transportation sector.

The transportation sector is responsible for more than half of all of California’s carbon pollution, 80 percent of smog-forming pollution and 95 percent of toxic diesel emissions. Communities in the Los Angeles Basin and Central Valley see some of the dirtiest and most toxic air in the country.

California State Senator Josh Newman during his 2020 election said, “The key to success in achieving these goals is the insight that, unlike the fossil fuels they will replace, renewable energy sources are technologies, not resources.”