On a broadcast this week of MSNBC’s show “Hallie Jackson Reports,” Biden National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy replied to worries that greater regulations will lead to increased oil and gas prices by saying “There is a place for” regulation and “We will use it.” McCarthy also pushed hearings with oil company executives in Washington as “a day of reckoning” for the gas and oil industry.
Host Hallie Jackson said, “That big gas and oil hearing in D.C., significant, and frankly, historic that they are all coming together. There is this sort of — an argument that you have heard some Republicans make that more rules lead to greater gas and oil prices, etc. I wonder how you reply to that and your response to what you have seen so far in terms of this hearing that is happening.”
McCarthy replied, “Yeah, well, this is the day of reckoning, I believe, for the gas and oil industry. Because for decades now, they denied that climate change was real. And now we are, every day, seeing the droughts, wildfires, floods, and the heat, and people are no longer listening or tolerating it. So, they cannot get away with that anymore. They must get serious about producing clean energy and electricity for Americans, and they must stop with their deception and move on with the transition into clean energy so that we can succeed in the 21st century here. So, there is no more hiding climate change. There is no more climate deniers. This is only about who wins the future, and whoever deals with climate in the smartest way, which want to do, is going to be the true winner.”
Jackson then asked, “So, to conservatives who say, hey, more regulations will mean consumers, Americans pay more for stuff, you respond?”
McCarthy said, “Well, what I would say is there is room for regulation. But this program, this framework that the president is working on is all about investments. It is not about penalties. It is all about how we use our economic might to drive forward and win the jobs of today and tomorrow. So, they can mention regulation all they want. There is a place for it. We will use it. Because there are opportunities that cannot be captured otherwise. But right now, if you see this framework, you do not see rules and regulations. You see more opportunity.”
Author: Scott Dowdy
