Rick Perry slams Biden's energy agenda for 'strengthening' Putin's economy
Former Trump energy secretary argues the left is hurting their climate change agenda by creating an energy production void being filled by Russia.
Europe is facing a transformational moment in history as it battles for its future. Russia’s actions in recent weeks, but especially the past days, should be a final wake-up call to those who value the rule of law and freedom. Russia has manipulated the balance of power shift to its benefit.
The consequences of Russia’s belligerence in Ukraine will, unfortunately, be even higher energy prices for Americans, and greater energy insecurity in Europe. American leadership must right the ship before it’s too late.
Europe is no stranger to President Putin’s use of energy as a weapon. After all, Russia has disrupted energy supplies to Europe on six separate occasions since 2009. But progress in combatting this known threat should not undermine European energy security or worsen inflation in the United States.
LIVE UPDATES: RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE
Over the past few years, Europe has pursued an extreme and unrealistic energy agenda and attempted a radical transition to fully renewable energy, but progress has been minimal and costly.
In 2020, less than 20 percent of the European Union’s electricity came from wind and solar. Germany alone, which now experiences soaring electricity prices, has gone from an electricity exporter to an electricity importer, largely due to former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s naïve termination of her country’s nuclear power plants.
Environmental groups in Europe are responsible for these policies, which are increasingly suffocating investment into infrastructure that guarantees security from the geopolitical turmoil we see today. As a result, Europe’s energy crisis is compounded by limited infrastructure to connect natural gas receiving terminals to European consumers.
BUCK SEXTON: BIDEN'S 'HOSTILITY' TO ENERGY PRODUCTION WEAKENED US POSITION AGAINST RUSSIAN INVASION
Germany cannot greenwash its complicity in creating the current crisis. Beyond its reluctance to fully commit to NATO, former Chancellor Merkel allowed Germany to fall victim to Russian-backed ‘NGOs’ that, contrary to all factual and technical assessments, spread disinformation and stoked environmental fears over nuclear energy and U.S. produced natural gas.
FILE – BERLIN, GERMANY - AUGUST 31: German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a ceremony to receive the Buber-Rosenzweig medal at the Chancellery on August 30, 2021 in Berlin, Germany.
The decision to sacrifice her nation’s nuclear power fleet was a baseless self-inflicted wound. Germany’s long-time embrace of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline and dependence on Russian oil and natural gas has only added to greater levels of energy insecurity.
Now Europe must face the consequences of following the advice of radical climate activists. But the reach of these consequences also extends to our borders where U.S. policymakers are pursuing similar policies that led Europe to this current energy shortage.
RUSSIAN NEWS WEBSITES HACKED PURPORTEDLY BY ANONYMOUS AMID UKRAINE INVASION
On day one, President Biden signaled the decline of America’s role as a reliable partner for Europe. He immediately rescinded authorization for the Keystone XL Pipeline and shortly afterward withdrew sanctions on Nord Stream 2.
Keystone XL was just the beginning of a disastrous trend. President Biden continues to allow and promote challenges to critical oil and natural gas infrastructure. There are still impending decisions around that corner that will either help alleviate market uncertainty in the coming months or compound the suffering of Americans and Europeans.
FILE - Pipes for the Keystone XL pipeline stacked in a yard near Oyen, Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. U.S. President Joe Biden revoked the permit for TC Energy Corp.'s Keystone XL energy pipeline via executive order hours after his inauguration. Photographer: Jason Franson/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
The Dakota Access Pipeline, a critical oil infrastructure that has operated for years, faces undue legal challenges and threats from environmental activists. Additionally, the Interior Department’s five-year offshore leasing plan – which manages plentiful offshore resources in the Gulf of Mexico – faces expiration in June of this year, and President Biden has yet to extend the development of this critical resource. Choosing not to support these projects would exacerbate our country’s reliance on Russia and other adversarial nations at a time when investing in U.S. energy security is crucial.
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Oil prices have climbed above $100 per barrel, inflation stands above seven percent, and the fear of further supply disruptions have led European consumers to nervously purchase significant volumes of Russian oil – a move that only undermines the very economical costs we seek to impose on President Putin’s rogue regime. Some estimates indicate upwards of $65 billion in revenue for Russian oil giants. It is high time we recognize that pursuing policies that jeopardize domestic oil and gas production carries a very steep price for humanity.
President Biden’s accusation of potential price-gouging by U.S. producers is the opposite of domestic leadership, not to mention ignorant of the impacts of his own policies. Leadership must extend beyond words to actions. The U.S. private sector can meet rising demand, mitigate supply disruption, and provide energy security for Americans and Europeans.
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There is no doubt that climate change is a challenge to be addressed. Still, our ability to tackle its challenges requires a stable economic foundation and security of supply to provide the flexibility to implement an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy. American energy producers are the solution, not foreign adversaries.
President Biden is correct when he says "defending freedom will have costs," but those costs shouldn’t be needlessly self-inflicted.
The United States needs a renewed partnership with American energy producers, one that champions their willing contributions to economic and climate progress.
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