Democrats’ ‘Hostility’ Toward Fossil Fuels Will Hobble US

One of the top lobbying groups for the oil and gas industry said the climate agenda that’s being pushed by Democrats is threatening the energy dominance that America has enjoyed for quite some time.

At the annual State of the American Energy conference held in Washington, D.C., this week, the American Petroleum Institute urged Democrats in Congress as well as President Joe Biden to shelve their ambitious mandates for green energy that the group believes jeopardize U.S. access to affordable fossil fuels, which are abundant in the earth.

“Washington is on the cusp of spoiling the American energy advantage, undermining it with short-sighted policies and hostility toward U.S. oil and natural gas, said Mike Sommers, the API’s president and CEO. “Our leaders are placing American energy advantage at risk for future generations.”

As part of its green energy plans, the Biden administration has been cutting down on approving exports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG. If regulators continue to halt these approvals, though, Sommers says that American allies in Asia and Europe could soon be at risk.

Many countries in Europe have been turning to the U.S. for LNG over the last two years as they have sought to reduce their dependence on Russia for natural gas. Many environmentalists, though, have said that all fossil fuel projects in the U.S. should stop, with the focus turning instead on green and clean energy.

The problem is that doing so is not only expensive, but it’s not really feasible, either. Not only would switching away from fossil fuels hurt international allies, but it would also significantly hit Americans’ wallets at a time when they are feeling economic pressure from many other sources.

During the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Energy has been taking at least 11 months to review export permits for LNGs. During the Trump administration, by comparison, those exports were typically approved within seven weeks.

According to data from the DOE, the average issuance time for LNG export licenses is 330 days in the Biden administration. That figure sat at only 49 days during the Trump administration and was at 155 days during the Obama administration.