Newsom pushes climate record abroad as Californians shoulder America’s highest gas costs

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Gavin Newsom pushes climate agenda in Brazil, downplays affordability concerns

Fox News anchor John Roberts speaks with strategist Katie Zacharia and commentator Natalie Beisner about California Governor Gavin Newsom’s climate plans and the effects of high energy prices on ‘America Reports’.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is in the midst of touting his state's leadership on energy policies while in Brazil for a United Nations climate conference, while Golden State residents pay the highest gas prices in the U.S., which are largely attributable to state regulations. 

"While climate change may not resonate, I think affordability matters," Newsom said in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle earlier in November ahead of his trip to Brazil. "When you talk about energy efficiency, you’re talking about saving money."

Newsom joined the COP30 summit, which is an annual U.N. climate meeting, in Belém, Brazil. Typically, federal U.S. officials attend the summit, but the administration skipped the event as President Donald Trump rails against climate change as "the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world."

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom is in the midst of touting his state's leadership on energy policies while in Brazil for a United Nations climate conference.  (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

"Absolutely," Newsom said Wednesday when asked if California was standing in for the U.S. at the summit, the Los Angeles Times reported. "And I think the world sees us in that light, as a stable partner, a historic partner … in the absence of American leadership. And not just absence of leadership, the doubling down of stupid in terms of global leadership on clean energy."

The governor's office touted amid the trip that, "Greenhouse gas emissions in California are down 21% since 2000 — even as the state’s GDP increased 81% in that same time period," and that "the state was powered by two-thirds clean energy" in 2023.

California currently has the highest average gas prices in the nation, data shows. 

The Golden State has long had notoriously high gas prices, and 2025 is no different. California currently has the highest average gas prices in the nation, at an average of $4.67 per gallon, followed by a list of other states, including Hawaii, Washington, Nevada and Oregon. 

Holiday travel is about to hit a fever pitch across the country as the aviation industry gets back on its feet following the historically long government shutdown that led to nationwide delays — with many travelers expected to hop in their cars for a road trip this Thanksgiving and Christmas season. 

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The White House slammed California's high gas prices to Fox News Digital Thursday while Newsom was abroad.

"Governor Newscum is working overtime to cement his status as the worst governor in America," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital. "Under his failed leadership, the great state of California is suffering with some of the highest gas and electricity prices in the country." 

"In fact, California drivers pay $1.60 more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline," she added. "Gavin, it’s time to abandon your failed Green New Scam experiment and embrace President Trump’s successful energy dominance agenda." 

A gas pump displays fuel prices under the Biden era, along with a sticker of President Joe Biden, at a gas station in Arlington, Virginia. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Newsom office spokesperson Izzy Gardon told Fox Digital Thursday that current gas prices in the state are lower than in 2019, when Newsom was inaugurated California's top leader. 

"Year over year, in real dollars, gas prices in California today are lower than they were in the Governor’s first year in office — and Californians are getting up to $60 billion in utility bill rebates thanks to climate policies Trump is too lazy or too stupid to understand," Gardon said. "While Trump tries to Make Black Lung Great Again, Governor Newsom is in Brazil fighting for clean energy, more jobs, and a livable planet." 

The nation's average gas price has fallen in recent months, sitting at about $3.08 as of Thursday, after reaching a high of $5 per gallon in the summer of 2022 under the Biden administration, according to Gas Buddy data. 

Red states currently report the lowest prices, including Oklahoma touting the lowest average price in the nation, at a state average of $2.48 per gallon, followed by four other red states with low average gas prices: Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. 

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The U.S. Energy Information Administration, which is the Department of Energy's statistical arm that publishes policy-independent data, attributed California's higher prices at the pump to a spate of policies, including state taxes and fees, environmental requirements and special fuel requirements. 

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Californians pay an extra $0.90 per gallon in local, state, and federal taxes as of March 2025, while the California Energy Commission estimated that residents pay an additional $0.54 a gallon in environmental compliance costs. The state also requires that fuel in the state be a special blend that cuts back on pollution, but also comes at a higher price tag, according to the Energy Information Administration. 

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California Governor Gavin Newsom traveled to Brazil for the COP30 World Climate Conference, touting his state's energy policies while the Trump administration skipped the event. (Mauro Pimentel/AFP via Getty Images)

Newsom and Trump have long been political foes, with their battles frequently focusing on energy policy, including Trump slamming Newsom over its water reserves in a state prone to devastating wildfires, and Trump signing a trio of congressional resolutions ending California's restrictive rules for diesel engines and mandates on elective vehicle sales in July. 

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Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom's office for comment on the matter but did not immediately receive a response.