I'm pretty sure he broke one of his key election promises
Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed that the Biden administration will be ending all oil and gas leases on federal land during her first official press briefing. Biden had placed a temporary moratorium on oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), according to
ABC News.
“The leases will be reviewed by our team,” Psaki
said. “We just have only been in office for less than a day now … All of our executive actions that we released today were reviewed by the career staff at the OCL. We went through that process in advance of releasing them.”
One of Biden’s key stances throughout his campaign was to “transition from the oil industry” without banning fracking, according to
Fox News.
Biden made this position clear during the third presidential debate.
“I would transition from the oil industry … because the oil industry pollutes significantly,” Biden
said.
Biden told Rust Belt voters numerous times that he would not ban fracking. While speaking in Dallas, PA on Oct. 24, Biden vehemently reiterated this point.
“I will not ban fracking,” Biden
said. “Period. I will protect Pennsylvania jobs.”
During the 2020 Vice Presidential Debate, Vice President Kamala Harris
pledged that Biden would not ban fracking.
“Joe Biden will not end fracking,” Harris said. “He has been very clear about that.”
One America News Network’s Jack Posobiec reported that numerous officials in the Biden administration “see nothing wrong” with banning fracking altogether.
This was part of Biden’s clampdown on fossil fuels, which included an executive order halting the construction of the $9 billion Keystone XL pipeline. Stopping construction will destroy 8,000 union jobs according to a press release from
TC Energy in October 2020 announcing how many jobs would be created in 2021 thanks to the pipeline’s construction.
“The awarding of 2021 U.S. construction contracts shows the continued momentum behind Keystone XL. The dedicated members of the Operating Engineers are eager and ready to build this critical piece of modern North American energy infrastructure to the highest quality standards,” said James T. Callahan, General President of the International Union of Operating Engineers. “The 8,000 American union jobs that come with 2021 construction is welcome news and irreplaceable as the U.S. continues our economic recovery.”
The pipeline would have transported 830,000 barrels of crude oil every day from Alberta, Canada, to Nebraska, according to
Fox Business. Biden’s executive order stays in line with President Obama’s stance, as Obama rejected construction of the pipeline in 2015. President Donald Trump overturned Obama, and about 300 miles have been finished since construction began early last year.
Despite the immediate job loss, Biden’s
clean energy infrastructure plan claims the new administration will create 250,000 jobs by “plugging abandoned oil and natural gas wells and reclaiming abandoned coal, hardrock, and uranium mines.”
1/4 of a Million jobs is quite a stretch I don't think he can live up to that promise either