December 8th, 2023

• Stay up to date on all things energy by visiting the TEA Newsroom.
• Natural Gas CARES: It is the world’s Cleanest, Affordable, Reliable Energy Source.
• Where it will cost most to heat your home this winter.
• Climate czar John Kerry wants coal plants banned worldwide.
• Congress provided $7.5B for electric vehicle chargers. Built so far: Zero.
• Labor unions are still giving Democrats climate headaches.
• The problem with EVs is they’re made in China.
• House votes to strike down Biden EV mandate.

The issue: U.S. lays out a plan to slash methane emissions from natural gas and oil at COP28. Meanwhile, the COP28 leader made headlines by saying there is ‘no science’ behind demands for phasing out fossil fuels.

Why it matters: While it seems counterintuitive for a climate conference to be hosted by the oil-rich UAE, the president of COP28, Sultan Al Jaber, actually has made a lot of sense. He in fact has claimed there is “no science” indicating that a phase-out of fossil fuels is needed to restrict global warming, The Guardian reported.

• Al Jaber wants facts, just like most normal thinking people.
  Hesaid: “I accepted to come to this meeting to have a sober and mature conversation. I’m not in any way signing up to any discussion that is alarmist. There is no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phase-out of fossil fuel is what’s going to achieve 1.5C.”
• TEA has also said the alarmist response to climate change is wrong.
  Again, we agree with Al Jaber saying, “Show me the roadmap for a phase-out of fossil fuel that will allow for sustainable socio-economic development, unless you want to take the world back into caves. Stop the pointing of fingers.”
• Many in the oil and gas industry are working with the EPA, but there is cautious optimism. The American Petroleum Institute, a top industry trade group, said it’s reviewing the rule.

Consider: At the same time, 70,000 people attended COP28. This seems like a conflict between humanitarianism and hypocrisy.

About 70,000 politicians, analysts and scientists are expected to turn up in Dubai over the next few weeks for COP28, the latest United Nations-sponsored climate confab. This is up from 49,704 at COP27 last year in Egypt, and 38,457 at COP26 in Scotland. Attendance has more than tripled since 2019. In COP’s early years, attendance averaged just 5,000.

We understand that the world is taking climate change more seriously, but this seems like overkill. And don’t forget: Many are flying to and from the venue in private jets and putting out lots of emissions.

A first-class round trip from New York’s JFK airport to Dubai produces roughly 3 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per passenger, according to a UN calculator. That’s about one-fourth of the carbon pollution that the average American produces in an entire year.

Bottom Line: The Biden admin’s new methane rule will amount to nothing more than another tax on the energy we consume on a daily basis. Keep in mind that 40% of our electricity comes from natural gas – taxing gas is taxing electricity.

The issue: As U.S. oil production sets new records, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum says the Biden administration doesn’t deserve any credit. He is on point with that assessment. In fact, Biden has done everything within his power to stop domestic energy production and consumption in its tracks. Yet he takes credit every time the price of gasoline goes down.

Why it matters:

• In an interview for “CloseUP,” the North Dakota governor said President Joe Biden is still getting it wrong on American energy policy, in spite of the market’s success.
• The U.S. set a record for crude oil production in September with 13.24 million barrels. This despite Biden and his green-at-all-cost minions trying to put a stranglehold on domestic natural gas and oil production since day one.
• North Dakota is among those states driving the surge in production. He said that as president, he would make it easier to bring American-produced energy into New England.

Burgum pulled out of the race this week, which is unfortunate because he brought energy issues to the forefront during his campaign and the two Republican candidates debates in which he participated.

“Because you can’t get a pipeline between the clean natural gas in the Marcellus in Pennsylvania in New England, which would be cheaper, and would save New Hampshire — whether their electrical bill or heating their home — would save millions and millions of dollars,” Burgum said.

Consider: The lack of pipelines has been a sore point since Biden took his seat in the Oval Office. Immediately, he blocked the Keystone XL pipeline and basically began his war on domestic energy production. That move alone, according to a report from The Department of Energy, cost between 16,000 and 59,000 construction jobs and a positive economic impact of between $3 and $9.6 billion.

It has continued ever since, with numerous attempts to ban gas stoves and other appliances. Biden deserves no praise for an increase in domestic energy production.

It was accomplished, as Burgum pointed out, by “onshore investors, entrepreneurs, investors, oilfield workers trying to supply energy to us and our allies … doing that against a constant headwind from the Biden administration that’s trying to crush U.S. liquid fuels.”

Bottom Line: The production records set by U.S. oil and natural gas industry over the past 3 years were accomplished in spite of — not because of — this president and his anti-American energy policies.

Looking for an early Christmas gift? Take a trip to the gas station, where you can fill up for less than $3 a gallon in over 10 states. The nationwide average for a gallon of gasoline is now at $3.19, which is 6 cents less than it was last week. As we approach the end of the year, you can expect gas prices to continue their slow descent thanks to oil struggling to stay above $70/barrel, even after OPEC’s recent production cut.

Hearing On Rogue-State Energy Sanctions: On Tuesday, December 12, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions will have a hearing called “Restricting Rogue-State Revenue: Strengthening Energy Sanctions on Russia, Iran, and Venezuela.”

Hearing On Energy Bills: On Tuesday, December 12, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will have a hearing on energy bills including the “Energy Poverty Prevention and Accountability Act of 2023.”

Hearing On Pacific Northwest’s Clean Energy Production: On Tuesday, December 12, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries will have an oversight hearing called “Left in the Dark: Examining the Biden Administration’s Efforts to Eliminate the Pacific Northwest’s Clean Energy Production.”

“So if you take away coal and natural gas, where are we going to get our electric power from? That’s the question Americans have to start asking.”

-Former White House advisor Steve Moore.