WASHINGTON (Washington Insider Magazine) – President Joe Biden’s plans to effectively put the United States on a course to combat climate change are colliding with an election-year rush to decrease gas costs and show voters actual economic success.
The Biden administration is attempting to thread the needle as environmental activists observe Earth Day on Friday, claiming that the nation can continue to pursue a climate-friendly path while keeping costs reasonable.
However, the trade-offs have never looked so apparent.
The White House is keen to cut the price of a gallon of gas — the most prominent economic signal, shown on giant, neon signs at filling stations on practically every corner — ahead of potentially catastrophic November elections for Democrats. However, this implies expanding global gas production at a time when Biden is attempting to wean the United States off fossil fuels.
To prove that his $1.2 trillion investment package is working, the government is rushing to commence work on new bridges, roads, and public works initiatives. Biden, on the other hand, reintroduced laws requiring major infrastructure plans to undergo lengthy environmental and climate evaluations before they can begin, a move that might create considerable delays.
Biden is encouraging nations to cease purchasing Russian gas and oil as the White House seeks to deprive Moscow of the finances it needs to conduct its war in Ukraine. Nonetheless, the power has to come from someplace. The White House just approved increased U.S. gas exports to Europe, a measure that would necessitate the construction of costly new export facilities that will likely remain in use for years – even if the present crisis subsides.
To avoid their competing agendas clashing, the White House claims that sky-high gas prices and Russia’s conflict just emphasize the need for the US to transition to clean renewable energy sources rapidly, removing the need to purchase gas and oil from anybody.
According to Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice president of the League of Conservation Voters, Russia’s invasion has made the elimination of fossil fuels a national security issue.
Some energy experts, however, have questioned this rationale, claiming that constructing massive new wind and solar farms is not a feasible approach for lowering energy prices quickly.
Biden’s sudden focus on cutting gas costs in the near future has sparked unusual rifts between his administration and environmental organizations, which mostly praised his efforts to dedicate the US to climate change in his first year. Climate activists aim to demonstrate outside the White House on Saturday to increase the president’s pre-election pressure.
The rising tensions reached a point last week after the administration said it will begin lease sales for energy corporations to explore for gas and oil on federal property in a press release sent Friday evening before the Easter weekend and a week before Earth Day.
Biden, who campaigned on ending new drilling on federal lands, was driven into a corner by a court ruling that required the administration to hold fresh lease auctions, according to White House sources. They claimed that Interior Secretary Deb Haaland had exploited her power to reduce the quantity of land available for sale and increase the royalty rate that corporations must pay.
Despite the protests of environmentalists, the fresh leases are unlikely to cut gas prices very soon, due to the complex procedure of leasing, permitting, exploring, and drilling that must occur before any additional gas or oil can be sold.
As part of his Build Back Better Plan, Biden was going through a period of admiration and relief from climate activists on his first Earth Day in office in April 2021, as he rectified many of ex – president Trump’s moves on the matter, set harsh new goals to cut U.S. emissions, and teed up a major far-reaching climate funding in history.
However, the funding bill died, taking with it well over half a billion dollars in climate funds, depriving Democrats of what would otherwise be their most significant legislative accomplishment to campaign on ahead of the November elections. The White House has shifted its focus to what actions it can take on its own to advance its climate agenda, while highlighting the modest climate-related expenditures included in the $1.2 trillion bipartisan investment bill that was passed.
Democrats have expressed optimism that the more comprehensive climate legislation sought by Biden might still pass this year, potentially as a stand-alone bill or as part of a scaled-back version of his original Build Back Better programme.
However, there have been no indications of meaningful, advanced conversations — notably with Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a must-have vote — and time is wearing out before the election season makes legislation in Congress practically impossible.
Leading environmental activist groups issued a letter to the White House on Friday, which was read by NBC News, urging him to rapidly pass a bill that contains over $550 billion in climate spending with just Democratic votes, labeling it a “legacy defining moment.”
Biden stated last month that he will release 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic reserve, one of many moves aimed at lowering gas costs in the near future. He’s also enabling E15 biofuel to be marketed this summer, despite the fact that it’s normally prohibited during the hottest months of the year due to smog issues, and pushing energy companies in the United States and abroad to temporarily increase gas and oil drilling.
Officials from the White House have hailed the actions as solid, visible efforts taken by the president to cut costs before the election that may hinge in large degree on who voters criticize for increasing prices and inflation.
