GREEN NUDE EEL: Oil industry faces end of the road in California regardless of Newsom penalty on profits.

Oil companies in California are planning an all-out fight against Gov. Gavin Newsom over his proposal to punish them for what he calls “unconscionable” profits. But that may be the least of the industry’s worries.

Fossil fuel companies face an existential threat in California as the state shifts to a carbon neutral future: Lawmakers have set a deadline to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles. State and local officials have restricted, or in some cases banned, new oil wells. And some cities are even banning gas stations and non-electric lawnmowers.

These and other measures suggest a grim outlook in the country’s largest car market for an industry more closely tied to the state’s development than the Gold Rush.

“It’s clearly redefining the industry and its role,” Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, said of efforts by lawmakers. “And it’s consistent with phasing out the fossil fuel industry.”

Left unsaid: How California will produce the energy to replace those fossil fuels.

Decline is a choice, and Californians have chosen it.