Republican Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon has come under fire for recent comments pledging to reduce the state’s carbon emissions and calling it urgent to address “climate warming.”
Gordon made the comments during his lecture. Harvard University Kennedy School On Monday at the Massachusetts Institute of Politics, he promoted the “Decarbonize the West” initiative he founded as president of the Western Governors Association. In 2018, Gordon ran for governor on a general energy policy platform, and has since promoted green energy development.
“It’s clear the climate is warming,” Gordon said Monday, according to the Harvard Crimson. “It is clear that carbon dioxide is a major contributor to the challenge, and there is an urgent need to address this issue.
“Wyoming is the first state to declare that it will become carbon negative.”
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Republican Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon warned Harvard University students this week about global warming, telling them the state would soon become “carbon negative.” (Getty Images)
Gordon also cited carbon capture and sequestration, forest management, nuclear energy and geothermal technologies as solutions to address carbon emissions.
Rep. John Baer, R-Wyo., who chairs the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, slammed the governor, saying the state cannot afford to “give an inch” to anti-fossil fuel interests. Bear pointed out that Wyoming is heavily dependent on the nation’s largest fossil fuel industry.
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“Frankly, I was embarrassed,” Baer said in an interview on Fox News Digital. “I was embarrassed that our country’s chief executive attended a pro-Hamas, pro-China school and appeased anti-fossil fuel opponents. He gave in to AOC and Al Gore’s hysteria, which in effect refutes science.
“At a time when governors in the West should be embracing the idea of energy independence and rolling back anti-American Biden policies, I think they should show us a different direction,” Baer added. “We cannot give in to anti-fossil fuel opponents and their utopian views on green energy. Mark Gordon explains to the people of Wyoming why we are selling our economy and our way of life to the liberal river. There is a need.”
Wyoming is the nation’s second-largest net energy provider after Texas, producing nearly 12 times more energy than it consumes, according to federal data. Wyoming has been the top coal-producing state since 1986, and by 2022 it will become the nation’s eighth-largest crude oil producer.
Overall, in 2022, a whopping 72% of Wyoming’s electricity was provided by coal-fired power plants. Another 3.6% was produced by natural gas and 23.1% by renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.
Under Gordon’s leadership, wind power generation has more than doubled since 2019, data shows.
A wind turbine generates electricity outside of Medicine Bow, Wyoming, August 14, 2022. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
“To be clear, the governor was not advocating shutting down fossil fuels. He was talking about urgency. “This is because of the large number of regulations targeting the fossil fuel industry.” “Since the beginning of his administration, Governor Gordon has been committed to protecting Wyoming’s core fossil fuel industry and tackling climate change, and he believes strongly that America can do both.
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“Unlike most people on both sides of the energy debate, Governor Gordon is bringing integrity to this conversation by considering pragmatic solutions that encompass both the fossil fuel portfolio and emerging energy technologies.
“No matter how you feel about this debate, we agree that the United States and the world need more energy, not less. With Governor Gordon’s leadership in the Western world, we will continue to meet that demand. will respond.”
