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THE ADMINISTRATION LINE: White House press secretary Jen Psaki laid out the administration’s response to the Republican argument for boosting fossil fuel production to counter Russian aggression, saying that the crisis instead shows the necessity of President Joe Biden’s plans to massively increase clean energy.
"I would also note that on oil leases, what this actually justifies in President Biden's view is the fact that we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, on oil in general ... and we need to look at other ways of having energy in our country and others,” Psaki added. Yet Biden officials have stopped well short of what the oil and gas industries and Republicans have talked about in terms of reducing Russia’s market share.
Another recommendation is for Biden to “use all existing authorities to end oil and gas drilling on, and the hoarding of, public lands and waters” and to dig deeper into the Interior Department’s oil and gas leasing programs. API REQUESTS CLARITY ON LEASING DELAYS: The American Petroleum Institute is asking the Interior Department to give more details about the extent to which its oil and gas leasing programs are delayed.
API, which represents some 600 firms across the oil and gas sector, has been at loggerheads with the administration since Biden took office. Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said it expects to review at least 16 plans for new offshore projects by 2025, which together would add up to over 22 GW of capacity. The administration is 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.
Some 45% of Italy’s gas imports come from Russia, an increase from 27% a decade ago, according to Draghi. More than half of the global population is also considered “highly vulnerable” to climate damages, the IPCC report concluded.