How Climate Extremism Promoted the Russia-Ukraine War

Op-ed | By Sierra Clair | August 21, 2025

As President Trump’s Alaska summit brings the Russia Ukraine conflict back into focus this week, we can’t forget the role that Democrats climate hysteria played in dragging out this conflict. Recently, it was alleged by CA gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton that California Governor Gavin Newsom has likely been purchasing Russian oil through a resale chain involving India and exposing one of many facets of his failed leadership. Many Americans, unfamiliar with Newsom’s particular brand of dirty politics, may wonder how a U.S. governor could so openly defy President Trump’s mandate—and the will of the American people—to halt funding for the Russia-Ukraine war? Ending the conflict, the killing, and its endless financial drain on the US was a key reason for Trump’s election in November 2024, as he consistently championed peace and an end to global wars during his campaign.

But, Californians unfortunately know exactly how Newsom and other climate extremists fostered this unsavory and illicit resale industry where Russian oil thrives. By prematurely halting purchases from allied nations and curbing domestic energy production without viable alternatives, climate extremists in Europe and North America created a demand for oil from hostile regimes like Russia, Iran, and Venezuela. Their rushed bans on friendly energy sources and domestic production led to energy shortages when renewable plans, like wind power, fell short. Rather than admitting their errors and reversing course, these leaders have grown increasingly reliant on the bloody trade of sanctioned oil, empowering adversarial regimes—some of which gained influence due to global climate hysteria propagated by the EU, UN, and the U.S. under Biden. In contrast, during President Trump’s first term, his focus on American energy independence set a model for allies, contributing to a period of relative global peace with no new wars initiated.

European allies who have been diligently chastising America for not sending enough billions of dollars to Ukraine to “stop Putin’s aggression” are themselves complicit. Throughout the war they have been purchasing large amounts of sanctioned Russian oil, skirting their own sanctions, and even participating in illicit oil trades. Only recently after Trump negotiated a trade deal with the EU have they made any firm commitment to finding new sources for energy. Trump’s trade deal with the EU included a 750billion dollar commitment to American energy directly addressing their hypocrisy on this issue. The Europeans often claim they were forced into this position due to Russia’s wartime tactics, yet they fail to see there would be no need for sanctions, no discussion about how to effectively enforce sanctions and whose naval resources will be used to stop illicit oil trades, or even the need for secondary sanctions if the climate extremists hadn’t breathed life into this market in the first place. As if this behavior from our allies wasn’t bad enough, now we find out we may even have a US governor who is undermining President’s Trump’s peace efforts by importing oil that funds the abduction of innocent Ukrainian children, contributes to the destruction of tens of thousands of lives each month on the battlefield, and contributes to global instability. American taxpayers on both sides of the aisle have soundly rejected funding this conflict further and most are relieved to see Trump pursuing action towards making peace rather than the performative theater we got under the Biden admin. And the kicker is, we have more than enough resources right here in California to ensure that we never need to participate in such an ugly industry. There is no popular support nor economic necessity for this situation to exist. This situation created by Newsom should disgust all Americans and serve as a reminder that Newsom is as incapable of leadership as Biden was. After receiving this comment from the California Energy Commission “California refineries stopped importing Russian crude oil in 2022, complying with the embargo. California refiners do not source crude oil from India or Turkey.” I investigated the claims made by Hilton and others alleging that California imported Russian gasoline from a resale chain involving India to see what could really be going on.

According to multiple articles this story starts with Newsom’s attack on CA energy back in 2024. In an article published on Oct. 17th 2024 by Quantum Commodity Intelligence, an independent price reporting agency headquartered in London California oil refinery plants were driven out of the state by Newsom’s new cumbersome regulations. The article stated, “Coming just a few days after California governor Newsom signed another bill targeting “Big Oil,” Phillips 66 announced it was shutting the century-old plants at Wilmington and Carson City that make up the LA facility citing an “uncertain” future.” This plant underwent work in early 2025 as it winds down operations and prepares to fully close by the end of the year.

Along with other supply shortages that were a result of Newsom’s stated goal to attack big oil in CA this led to one of the worst supply crises California has seen in years. According to a QCI article published in March 2025 referencing the supply crisis, “It comes after a string of issues at multiple California refineries, coinciding with planned spring maintenance. That includes work at Phillips66’s LA refinery in Wilmington, set for permanent closure later this year. California’s shortage is so severe that gasoline is being drawn all the way from Northwest Europe. But Asian suppliers stand to gain to gain the most with the transpacific arb seen open again. India is the largest supplier, sending 945,000 barrels or 30,000 bpd this month, all from the giant Jamnagar refinery.” Many other articles also reported California’s record 4 year high in foreign oil and gasoline imports this Spring. According to one article 40% of shipments in Southern California’s Olympic Terminals were from India. The BOE Report article stated, “So far in 2025, the terminal has imported about 40% of its gasoline shipments from Jamnagar, which underwent a maintenance-related shutdown in April.”

Due to the Jamnagar plant’s history as a hub for Russian crude oil imports the supply crises that resulted in imports from India’s Jamnagar plant to California raise questions about the possibility of Russian oil arriving in California this spring right in the midst of Trump’s efforts to broker peace in Ukraine by going after Russian oil profits. According to a QCI article published in December 2024, “Russia’s state-owned Rosneft has signed a 10-year deal to supply India’s privately owned Reliance Industries with 500,000 bpd of crude, according to Indian media reports. The agreement is reportedly the largest energy transaction between Russia and India and one of the biggest term supply deals in global oil markets. Reliance operates the huge 1.16 million bpd Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat, sourcing crude grades globally. The facility is a key hub for processing discounted Russian crude, which has flowed in record volumes to India since Western sanctions on Moscow redirected supplies to Asia. India’s imports of Russian oil peaked at over 2 million bpd earlier this year, up from almost zero before the war in Ukraine.” This deal was signed 3 months before oil exports arrived from India in California. According to another article Jamnagar was also implicated in a sanctions evasion scheme in Canada in January of 2025 where Russian oil mixed with refined oil product from India was imported into Canada exploiting a well-documented loophole that hypocritical climate extremist governments have used to import banned Russian oil. Canada is another country where California imports foreign oil from.

According to various articles published in 2025 on the QCI website Jamnagar’s use of Russian crude is well documented. One article stated the average bpd of Russian crude that arrived in India in 2025, “but compare the average 100,000 barrels per day it imported in 2021 to the 1.796 million barrels per day in 2025 to date, according to data and analytics provider Kpler.”

Another QCI article published in August 2025 referenced exact shipment amounts of Russian crude sent to Jamnagar stating, “India’s Russian crude imports are holding firm at 2.13 million bpd in August, making up 40% of total inflows, as refiners weigh US tariff pressure against narrowing discounts and shifting strategies. Arrivals of Russian crude oil to India are on track to reach the highest level since last November, amid increased shipments from the Far East export and tighter restrictions on some Chinese refiners. Shipping data from Vortexa on Tuesday estimated arrivals of Russian crude oil this month at around 1.6 million bpd amid rising volumes of ESPO blend, a popular choice for refiners in northeast Asia. This increase in crude imports is supported by higher flows coming from the Russia Far East region Shipping data showed that those ESPO cargoes are due to reach Kochi and Jamnagar refineries in India.”

According to the QCI website their data is vetted through a number of ways they state, “In all markets, Quantum seeks to establish assessments through reported trades, or bids and offers, that have been conducted on an open and transparent trading platform. The reporting of the data must come from a trusted market source, such as a broker or a trader, that has been vetted and approved by Quantum.”

According to my own math, with the help of AI, and using the average refining capacity of Jamnagar and the estimated percentage of Jamnagar’s intake that is Russian crude, of the 945,000 bpd imported from India’s Jamnagar refinery to California in the month of March, between 378,000 barrels to 756,000 barrels of Russian gasoline came into California via India in March alone. Data is unclear on how many months these imports from Jamnagar facility continued for. It is important to note these imports, necessitated by Newsom’s manufactured supply crisis, may not have officially violated sanctions due to the third country refining loophole. But it is very likely profits from the imports made their way back into the Kremlin’s pocket which undermines the whole idea of the sanctions.

Now that we have seen the carnage from the Russia Ukraine war, the global climate hysteria that created the conditions for this war, should serve as reason enough for the US to defund anyone who promotes conflict in this way. This includes the UN as they pushed faulty data and fearmongering over global warming at the expense of their core duty to promote peace and stability. This is unacceptable and these extremists who forced an agenda on the world when they clearly weren’t knowledgeable enough on the subject to understand the limits of their own technology, or the consequences of their actions should be held accountable. We can start with Gavin Newsom, by rejecting his failed policies and ensuring his political career ends in California before he reaches his presidential aspirations.

Climate extremists in Europe and North America, by prematurely halting domestic energy production and banning purchases from allies without viable alternatives, have driven reliance on oil from adversarial regimes like Russia, Iran, and Venezuela. This has not only destabilized energy markets but also empowered these regimes, contributing to global conflicts. And it is up to Americans once again to bring back rationality and common sense to the world through supporting the energy dominance policies of the Trump administration and defunding anyone who is promoting conflict in this way.