First appearance on Fox: Republican leaders in the House and Senate have launched a joint investigation into the International Energy Agency (IEA), a powerful group that influences the world’s major decarbonization policies.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) In a letter to IEA Director-General Fatih Birol late Wednesday, the Paris-based group said: In recent years, it has strayed from its core mission of “promoting energy security.” They warned that the IEA’s actions could damage the group’s reputation for impartiality.
“We would like to argue that in recent years the IEA has undermined energy security by preventing adequate investment in energy supplies,” Barrasso and McMorris Rogers said in the letter. “Furthermore, its energy modeling no longer provides policymakers with a balanced assessment of energy and climate proposals. Instead, it has become a cheerleader for the ‘energy transition.’”
“Until recently, the IEA has served as a valuable source of reliable information on oil market safety and provided a mechanism by which oil-consuming countries can respond effectively to oil shortages,” they continued. “Therefore, the IEA must carry out its energy security mandate in an objective manner. We believe that the IEA is failing to fulfill these responsibilities.”
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Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.). (Getty Images/File)
Barrasso and McMorris Rodgers cited IEA projections, rather than internal research, in justifying the Biden administration’s recent move to suspend new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects, but the move He noted that the move has been strongly criticized by many in the U.S. energy industry.
Energy Deputy Secretary David Turk, who previously led the IEA, acknowledged last month that the government relies on the IEA’s forecasts, which two Republicans called “very concerning.” characterized.
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“To protect the indefensible, the Biden administration is trumpeting ostensible fears that more LNG export capacity may be built than necessary,” the pair continued in their letter to Birol. “The basis for that concern is the IEA’s unrealistic model. Decisions about future LNG export capacity should be left to market participants and investors, not politicians and bureaucrats.”
International Energy Agency Director-General Fatih Birol (Ian Langsdon/AFP, via Getty Images/File)
According to the IEA, it was established in 1974 at the height of the global oil crisis to coordinate the international response to oil supply disruptions. But in recent years, Republicans have pivoted by focusing on pursuing decarbonization policies and “building a net-zero emissions energy system that adheres to internationally agreed climate change goals” (quoting from the Barrasso-McMorris-Rogers letter). He has been criticized for doing so.
And in 2021, the IEA released its Net Zero Roadmap report, which said the Republican pair were “long on aspirations but short on what matters most to policymakers.”
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At the same time, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has listed the IEA as a key partner in promoting policy analysis, energy security and technology cooperation. Several senior DOE staff members also represent the United States on various IEA committees.
Barrasso and McMorris Rogers concluded their letter by listing a series of questions they would like Birol to answer about the group’s activities and energy research.
The IEA did not respond to requests for comment.
