A Biden Presidency Would Have Extreme Consequences for the Oil and Gas Industry

September 1, 2020

Presidential nominee Joe Biden is no moderate when it comes to energy policy. Power the Future recently released a study on this covering his voting history, his rhetoric throughout nearly half a century in public office, and how the energy industry would be impacted under his watch.

From 2001 to 2008, Biden voted for “pro-environment” policies 87 percent of the time. Compared to the other 33 Democratic senators in office during that time, only 8 received a higher ranking. Notably, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry both received lower ratings, of 80 percent and 76 percent, respectively.

Biden has only become more progressive over the course of his campaign to tackle climate change. In July, he rolled out his aggressive $2 trillion climate plan, a proposal that marked the first-time global warming has emerged as a central plank in the Democratic Party’s presidential campaign.

During his visit to Pittsburg Monday, he once again swore he does not plan to ban fracking. However, the oil and gas industry is wary of those promises, since Biden has vowed to ban fracking multiple times before.

The Federalist reports:

“We would work it out. We would make sure it’s eliminated,” Biden said about coal and fracking from the Democratic presidential debate stage just a few months ago.

“We are going to get rid of fossil fuels,” he also promised from the podium at a New Hampshire rally.

Even though Biden claims to have changed his position on the issue to only accommodate some fracking, his VP pick Kamala Harris is also a strong advocate against fossil fuels, “fully supporting the progressive Green New Deal and a ban on fracking everywhere.”

Harris proudly co-sponsored the Green New Deal, which would ban fracking, and is vocal about her position on creating newer, cleaner energy. Biden’s official policy positions on energy and the environment were overseen by Green New Deal creators.

With Kamala Harris as his running mate and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as the co-chair of his climate task force, it’s inevitable Biden will inch further to the left.

In the current economic environment where unemployment is at an all-time high, the valuable oil and gas industry critical to our country’s post-pandemic recovery should be protected not dismantled to please the eco-extremists on the left. The U.S. needs a candidate we can trust to make informed decisions and not be easily swayed – Biden has shown, time and time again, he is not that candidate.