Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm claimed during a Friday morning interview on CNBC that President Joe Biden never said he would put fossil fuels “out of business.”
“I did not hear him say that,” Granholm said, pushing back against the host’s claim that Biden had promised to eliminate fossil fuels.
“Just look at YouTube,” CNBC host Joe Kernan pushed back.
“I think the president and I, we all do, that there would be a managed transition. That fossil fuels are not going away in the immediate. That is why the focus that the U.S. has been such a leader in making sure that we can curb methane,” Granholm responded.
END OF FOSSIL FUELS?
Do you think these politicians took economics in college?
CNBC: This is all about Biden’s campaign vow to put fossil fuels out of business, right?
Energy Sec. Jennifer Granholm: “I did not hear him say that.”
pic.twitter.com/PjCXoCSc65— Ohhhh Gilligan! (@FlipJoyX) January 26, 2024
During an Aug. 2023 interview with The Weather Channel, Biden said he “wanted to stop all drilling,” but could not do so after losing legal battles. Biden attempted to pause all oil and gas drilling on federal lands in 2021, but a Louisiana court blocked that action in Aug. 2022, according to Reuters. (RELATED: ‘Stop Petro Pete!’: Buttigieg Chased Off Stage By Chanting Climate Protesters)
Biden promised to “transition from the oil industry” when pressed by former President Donald Trump during a 2020 presidential debate. He argued that fossil fuels “must be replaced by renewable energy over time” and said he would stop giving federal subsidies to the oil industry.
“How long do you think, madam secretary? … Do you think it’s 50 years or do you think its five years?” Kernan pressed. “Because if you’re pausing now, it assumes that we’re gonna be able to transition in like five or 10 years. There are people that say it’s at least going to be 50 years for the global economy to be able to operate. It can’t operate without fossil fuels.”
“We are working every day at the Department of Energy to reduce, uh, greenhouse gas emissions,” Granholm replied.