The fossil fuel industry should be forced to fund the clean energy transition, not allowed to make even more money as the Ukrainian people suffer, writes jamieclimate.
attempting to exploit the crisis. Without even a word of solidarity for the people of Ukraine, API launched into a set of four demands for the White House, all of which would benefit the industry while providing no help to Europe or Ukraine.
We saw API and their allies in the GOP use the same playbook during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, when they issued a long list of demands for the Trump administration, who was all too happy to turn the pandemic relief package into aThis time, we can’t let them get away with it. That starts with loudly and publicly debunking their arguments, and then pivoting to our own, real solutions to the energy issues surrounding the conflict and the ongoing climate emergency.
Second, since polluting on land isn’t enough when you can also pollute on water, API called on the White House to issue a new five-year offshore leasing plan. The Biden administration already made the mistake of holding the largest offshore lease sale in U.S. history, but a judgebecause it lacked any meaningful climate analysis. Either way, it’s never enough for Big Oil: they want a guarantee that they’ll keep being able to expand in the Gulf of Mexico and beyond.
Finally, API threw in the catch-all “reduce legal and regulatory uncertainty,” a fancy way of saying, “make sure the rules don’t apply to us.” Big Oil doesn’t like the idea of following the law, let alone being held accountable in court for the damage they’ve done to the climate. They’re equally dismissive of regulations, also known as environmental and public protections, like the clean air and clean water acts.