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Monday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a major chapter in its sixth assessment report (AR6), the first significant update since 2014. IPCC is the “gold standard” of climate science, based on thousands of published studies. But science is not a golden oracle that dictates what policies follow. It’s up to policymakers to take the science and translate it into realistic, actionable policy. The IPCC doesn’t provide solutions on how to reduce carbon emissions while still meeting the needs of humanity for food, shelter, mobility, home heating and cooling, medicines, water, and other life-sustaining products and services. There is rarely a clearer illustration of this reality than the actions from the White House just two days after the IPCC report was released. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan issued a statement about the effects of high gasoline prices on the global economy. This follows efforts over the summer to encourage OPEC and Russia to increase production. The White House also directed the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate oil companies for potential market manipulation. A Better Idea We call on the White House to stop its market manipulation. Instead of begging OPEC to increase production, why doesn’t the White House just declare a truce with American producers and promise to back off plans to regulate us off federal lands and out of business? Simply announce new lease sales onshore and move forward with the offshore leasing plan. Reissue the permit to construct KeystoneXL, as Canadian oil is vastly preferrable to Russian. Reconsider plans to move forward aggressively with myriad new regulations meant to reduce American production. To address short-term gasoline prices, send a clear message to Wall Street that the administration will not pursue policies denying the industry access to capital. Having announced policies to reorient markets away from their traditional role of capitalizing legitimate commerce and towards prioritizing climate change goals above maximizing returns, the administration is distorting the market. Coupled with shareholder activists and investors like BlackRock that are purposefully discouraging investment in American oil and natural gas in the name of climate change, the industry is already capital constrained and under pressure from Wall Street to curtail production. We’re not the ones manipulating the market. We call on the White House to accept responsibility for how its climate change policies are leading to high gasoline prices now and into the future. Tell the FTC to back off. Promise that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) won’t continue to distort energy markets with regulations aimed at denying the oil and natural gas industry access to capital. Acknowledge the security and economic benefits of producing energy here in America rather than importing it from our adversaries. When the rubber meets the road, high energy prices trump unrealistic climate change policies. Reliable, affordable energy and our industry’s technological innovation provide real, sustainable solutions. Don’t advantage Russian and Saudi above American producers.
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