President Joe Biden caused a storm in energy circles when he said in his State of the Union address Tuesday that the United States will need oil “for at least another decade.”
Republicans in the House chamber laughed at Biden’s remarks that were not in his written speech. GOP lawmakers blamed the Democratic president for refusing to accept reality and “living in a green hallucination,” as Montana Senator Steve Daines put it.
“President Biden stated tonight that America will not produce oil beyond the next decade. If you believe that, you have missed a lot and are living in a dream world. God help America,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., in a tweet.
But environmentalists and some Democrats backed Biden, saying the U.S. needs a plan to phase out oil and other fossil fuels — the sooner, the better.
“I think the president is right,” said Collin Rees, senior campaigner for green group Oil Change International. “We cannot continue to pretend to reduce (greenhouse gas) emissions without addressing oil production, and that means eliminating fossil fuels.”
“If we’re going to save the future, we need to transition away from dirty, expensive and deadly fossil fuels, and we need to speed it up – not slow it down,” Sen added. Ed Markey, D-Mass.
Biden made the comments while announcing landmark legislation to slow climate change. The law signed last year – supported only by Democrats – authorizes hundreds of billions of dollars to boost renewable energy such as wind and solar power and help consumers buy electric vehicles and energy-efficient appliances.
The legislation is a key part of Biden’s ambition to cut planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Most experts say the net-zero goal cannot be fully achieved even if the most optimistic. scenario.
Running out of oil in a decade is nearly impossible, says energy analyst Kevin Book.
“I think the White House might want an ad-libs workshop” before Biden speaks, Book joked Wednesday, adding that no serious analyst believes oil can be completely phased out in years.
“We rely on oil and gas for 85 to 90 percent of our transportation energy,” he said. Electric vehicles, while growing in popularity, represent less than 6% of new US car sales.
Even the US government agrees that oil and gas will be needed for decades. The Energy Information Administration, the statistics and research arm of the Department of Energy, projects that US energy consumption will increase over the next 30 years as population and economic growth outpace energy efficiency.
Petroleum and natural gas will remain the nation’s largest sources of energy through 2050, the EIA said in a report last year, although renewables such as wind and solar are growing the fastest.
The White House said Biden’s comments were consistent with previous statements by other administration officials — that the U.S. is in an energy transition and will continue to need oil.
“Let’s be clear that fossil fuels will remain in the mix of the world’s energy system for many years to come,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in 2022 remarks cited by the White House.
Ironically, Biden’s comments came as he tried to convince his critics that he understood the need for continued oil production. “We’re still going to need oil and gas for a while,” Biden said, before adding a 10-year time frame in his next, ad-libbed comment.
After GOP lawmakers laughed, Biden quickly responded: “And beyond. We’re going to need it.
Biden’s message to the oil industry — “Stay in business, we need you today” — is true, “but the unit is dead,” Book said. “They give you a 10-year life expectancy for a 50-year asset.”
Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, said Biden “could have used the #SOTU address to unite America. However, he once again criticized American businesses that employ millions of Americans, pay taxes and provide energy to the world. US producers of oil and natural gas , transporters and refiners are better.
Ben Jealous, executive director of the Sierra Club, said that expanding oil and gas production and extending the life of fossil fuel infrastructure such as refineries “will only exacerbate the climate crisis while increasing the profits of companies like President Biden rightly.” in the State of the Union.
“What we need is to double the investment in order to change the fuel of the past and clean energy,” said Cemburu.
Learn how to navigate and strengthen trust in your business with The Trust Factor, a weekly newsletter that examines what leaders need to succeed. Log in here.