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Yesterday the American Petroleum Institute (API) endorsed putting a price on carbon emissions, a significant departure from previous anti-regulatory statements made by the oil and gas industry lobbying group. However, critics of the oil and gas industry were unmoved by API's announcement, noting API's caveat that its support is contingent on the Biden administration avoiding what it terms "regulatory duplication."
Frank Macchiarola, API’s senior vice president for policy and regulatory affairs, said during the stakeholder forum hosted by the Interior Department, “We support a price on carbon. This has been long debated within industry and within government, and we think it’s the most impactful way to address the risks of climate change.” API further agreed that oil and gas companies should work with the Biden administration to curtail methane emissions from operations.
In her opening remarks at the forum, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland acknowledged that oil and gas development will play a major role in the American economy for decades to come while also emphasizing the urgency of meeting climate goals, saying "too often the extraction of resources has been rushed to meet the false urgency of political timetables rather than with careful consideration for the impacts on current or future generations.” The forum capped off a week of meetings with Biden administration officials and representatives of energy companies, tribal nations, and environmental and labor organizations to discuss the future of the federal oil and gas leasing system and the administration's commitment to addressing climate change.
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Time is of the essence in this fight to combat the climate crisis. If we’re serious about wanting to stave off the worst effects of climate change before it’s too late, then we absolutely have to take steps now to reduce the amount of methane that’s being released into our atmosphere.”
