Linked Fates | Amazon Watch
Amazon Watch

Linked Fates

How California's oil imports affect the future of the Amazon rainforest

December 2021 | Stand.earth and Amazon Watch | Report

Download as PDF (22 MB) | Summary for policymakers | Resumen ejecutivo en español

State and corporate leaders can chart a new path

New research from Stand.earth and Amazon Watch shows that California is the world’s largest consumer of oil from the Amazon rainforest. Linked Fates shows in detail how California converts 50% of the Amazon oil exported globally into fuel for airports, corporations such as Amazon.com, trucking fleets such as PepsiCo., and retail gas giants such as COSTCO come from oil extracted in the Amazon – where the oil industry causes deforestation and pollution, violates Indigenous peoples rights, spreads corruption, and contributes to climate change.

“Oil drilling in our Amazon has brought contamination, disease, deforestation, destruction of our cultures, and the colonization of our territories. It is an existential threat for us and violates our fundamental rights as Indigenous peoples. We are calling for an end to all new extraction on our lands, and as our ancestors and science now affirm, we must keep fossil fuels in the ground, in accordance with the commitments of the Paris Agreement and at COP26 in Glasgow.” 

Nemo Andy Guiquita, Waorani Indigenous leader of Women and Health of CONFENIAE

The oil flow

Our research reveals that an average of 89% of the annual crude oil exported from the Amazon comes from Ecuador, 66% of that goes to the U.S. 1 in 9 gallons of fuel pumped in 2020 in California come from the Amazon, and in Southern California, the average is 1 in 7 gallons.

Marathon, Chevron, and Valero are the top three refiners of oil from the Amazon, all in California. Of the Amazon crude that goes to the U.S., 27% goes to Marathon, 22% goes to Valero, and 17% goes to Chevron. Chevron’s role is particularly notable, since the company is connected to some of the oil industry’s worst impacts in the Amazon, as well as in California.The company has spent nearly $2 billion fighting its court-ordered mandate to pay $9.5 billion in clean-up and community reparations costs that it is responsible for in Ecuador.

Los Angeles International Airport consumes more oil from the Amazon than any other airport in the world – an average of 1 in 6 gallons of jet fuel pumped at LAX comes from the Amazon. 

Where does the Amazon crude go?

  • 123 MILLION GALLONS of jet fuel from the Amazon rainforest was consumed by major airlines at LAX and SFO in 2020. The Top airlines are American Airlines, Delta, United, Southwest, Alaska Airlines.
  • 13 MILLION GALLONS of diesel from the Amazon rainforest was consumed by food and beverage delivery services in 2020. The top companies are Pepsi, Sysco, U.S. Foods, Reyes Holdings, and UNFI.
  • 39 MILLION GALLONS of diesel from the Amazon rainforest was consumed by parcel delivery services in 2020. The top companies are Amazon.com, UPS, and FedEx.
  • 43 MILLION GALLONS of diesel and gasoline from the Amazon rainforest was consumed by major supermarkets for their fleets and retail fuel stations in 2020. The top supermarkets are Walmart, Costco, Kroger, and Albertsons/Safeway.
  • 1.9 BILLION GALLONS of gas and diesel from the Amazon rainforest was sold by major oil companies in California in 2019. The top retailers include Arco, Chevron, Shell, 76 (Phillips 66), and Valero. Unbranded gas is the largest share of gas sold in the state, illustrating that real change will require state action to reduce gasoline consumption, not just actions by brands. 

The solutions

Companies using Amazon oil are responsible for eliminating fossil fuels, including those destroying the Amazon rainforest. Corporate leaders need to:

  • Call for no new oil expansion in the Amazon
  • Develop fuel sourcing policies that are transparent and traceable
  • Set aggressive goals for electric vehicle use and other strategies designed to reduce fossil fuel consumption 

Government leaders need to be a force for change, with new policies, regulations, and commitments:

  • Commit California to a policy/regulatory agenda that ensures that California is not contributing to the expansion of oil drilling in the Amazon.
  • Create a multi-agency commission to map out how the state can achieve this goal (without any increase of domestic Californian production)
  • Present a plan for California to reduce and/or eliminate its consumption of crude from the Amazon.
  • Commit California to new fuel efficiency standards, push for electrification of fleets that consume the most Amazon oil, expansion of EVs broadly, and public transportation goals to reduce domestic consumption equivalent to Amazon oil import totals.
  • Ban new domestic production or within 3200 feet of buffer areas

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