House GOP’s climate strategy for oil, gas production growth

They said specific policies will be released in the months ahead. An individual briefed on the plan said those polices would include an expansion of domestic fossil fuel production and increased exports of liquefied natural gas, while expanding technologies that reduce emissions like carbon capture and hydrogen fuels.

At a Republican event in New Mexico on Thursday, Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana, ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, said efforts by the Biden administration to reduce U.S. emissions were driving up gasoline prices while pushing production overseas to countries with looser environmental policies.

“I’m fully supportive of moving in the direction of renewable energy, but we need everything and yes, that means oil and gas,” he said. “We can produce it here at home or have Vladimir Putin or Iran or Venezuela do it. We do it safer and we do it cleaner than anyone else.”

The strategy is in part based on studies showing oil and gas produced in the United States is marginally less carbon intensive than that produced in some other nations. However, scientists with the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have said the world needs to shift rapidly away from fossil fuels all together, decreasing oil consumption 60 percent by 2050, in order to achieve the drastic emissions reductions necessary to avoid cataclysmic climate change.

Republicans are trying to paint themselves as the pragmatic counterpoint to Democratic strategies that aim for a rapid shift to wind and solar power. Instead Republicans are calling for a more measured approach, supporting clean energy technology but not doing away with fossil fuels either.

“The GOP plan contrasts sharply with the failed liberal policies of the past, such as the Green New Deal.” Greg Walden, a former Oregon congressman and chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a statement. “House Republicans are making a clear distinction that they will lead on mitigating the global climate challenge with plans that will stabilize our economy and make energy more affordable.”

Democrats have already come out against the strategy as irresponsible in light of worsening climate trends in recent years.

“I welcome the efforts of anyone, regardless of party, who is willing to seriously tackle climate change — but on its face this does not look like a serious proposal,” Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., told the Washington Post. 

But with gasoline prices at their highest level in years, the two parties’ energy policies are likely to carry greater weight in November’s election.

At the New Mexico event, Rep. Yvette Herrell, R-N.M., said Republicans needed to improve their messaging on climate change, saying they often depicted incorrectly as climate deniers.

“You do get vilified, ” she said. “We’ve had some great ideas, and they’re immediately shut down.”