Western Energy Alliance applauds President Trump’s Executive Order that will encourage development of the American energy that delivers over 80% of the nation’s demand.
“For the last eight years, the federal government has made it more difficult for American producers of oil, natural gas, and coal to develop the very energy that runs our economy, gets people to work and school, powers manufacturing, and supports every basic human need from food and clothing to shelter and health care,” said Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Alliance. “In the absence of an alternative that provides reliable, affordable, 24/7 energy, these policies merely killed jobs and economic opportunity here in the United States. To keep it in the ground does not create a better future; on the contrary, it would cause us to import energy from overseas and make the country poorer while degrading the environment.
“The narrative needs to change on how American is leading on climate change, not because it engages in ineffective international climate change agreements like Paris, but because it is actually reducing greenhouse gas emissions more than any other industrialized country. Natural gas has been the primary reason the United States has reduced greenhouse gas emissions more than the European Union or other countries that impose top-down climate change policies. American oil and natural gas producers have decreased methane emissions 21% even while delivering a 52% increase in natural gas production. Obama-era climate change policies such as the Clean Power Plan, the social cost of carbon, methane regulations, and others do not have a solid basis in law. Rather, they were a vast, unlawful overreach by the Obama Administration based on incomplete science. By reorienting climate policies back on the Clean Air Act and the full spectrum of science, President Trump can not only continue this success in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but will spur economic opportunity for hard-working Americans.
“Specifically as it relates to oil and natural gas production, the Administration is also reviewing rules on hydraulic fracturing and methane. A federal court has already ruled that the federal government does not have authority to regulate fracking, states do. We believe our lawsuit challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s methane rule would also prevail in court, as it is a vast grab of Clean Air Act authority by BLM. We very much appreciate that President Trump recognizes such rules are a broad overreach of federal authority that need to be reined in. We’re very pleased that the Trump Administration will be reorienting the agencies back to actually following the law and cooperating with states rather than constantly trying to usurp their authority. We look forward to helping President Trump create jobs and American energy independence,” concluded Sgamma.
