Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm claimed Friday that she had no knowledge of President Biden's past comments on fossil fuels.
During a conversation about the Biden administration's suspension of export approvals for liquefied natural gas and LNG, Granholm was asked about the consistency of Biden's stance on fossil fuels in general.
“Mr Secretary, your comments on our program – and I know we have a business audience – I’m sure you won’t respond to your comments, but they are very sensitive. “And, you know, you bring up a lot of reasons why you would do this, other than climate change,” CNBC's “Squawk Box” host Joe Kernen began. Ta. “But the way the president is pitching it, he's basically saying this is an attempt to address the 'existential crisis of our time.'”
“Activists are hailing the decision as a landmark crisis that shows the industry can no longer simply say 'OK' to continue producing oil and gas products. “This is a strong statement that we can no longer allow industry to continue operating, and we object to this,” Kernen continued. “And he said, 'Read my lips, let's put fossil fuels out of business.'”
“Squawk Box's” Joe Kernen harshly criticized Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in a recent segment on his show. (CNBC)
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“I didn't hear him say that,” Granholm replied.
“Watch YouTube,” Kernen retorted.
The video shows then-candidate Biden on the campaign trail in 2019, after an environmental activist in New Hampshire questioned him about accepting donations from the co-founder of a liquefied natural gas company.
“Look me in the eye, I guarantee you. I guarantee you, we're going to phase out fossil fuels,” Biden said at the time.
In the same interview with Kernen, Granholm insisted there would simply be a “managed transition” and that “fossil fuels are not going away anytime soon.”
President Biden speaks at a recent event in Wisconsin (Screenshot/Biden speech)
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“How much do you think it is, Madame Secretary?” asked Cologne. “Do you think it's 50 years or do you think it's five years? If we're pausing now, we're assuming that we can transition in about five or 10 years. Yeah. Some say: “It will take at least 50 years for the world economy to be operational. You can't run an economy without fossil fuels. You can't get fossil fuels without infrastructure.”
Granholm said: “At the Department of Energy, we work every day to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That means ensuring we manage our carbon emissions. “We're cutting back and we have technology that's relevant to the oil and gas industry. A lot of people are stepping up.” The reason people say we're going to get to net zero by 2050 is because there's a recognition that we still need net zero, and I'm not just saying this, this is science. The International Commission on Climate Change says that the use of fossil fuels will continue. ”
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“But can we manage the additions and eliminate the emissions? And that's a really, really important strategy that the United States has taken,” Granholm concluded.
