API Statement on Biden’s Climate Plan

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2020 – The American Petroleum Institute released the following statement ahead of former Vice President Joe Biden’s expected remarks on his campaign’s new climate plan.

“We stand at a crossroads for the nation’s energy future, and the choices policymakers make in 2020 and beyond will determine whether we build on America’s energy progress or shift to foreign energy sources with lower environmental standards,” API President and CEO Mike Sommers said. “You can’t address the risks of climate change without America’s natural gas and oil industry, which continues to lead the world in emissions reductions while delivering affordable, reliable and cleaner energy to all Americans.”

“This plan would require a massive amount of infrastructure buildout, a goal we all share,” Sommers said. “Unfortunately, it comes at a time when we’ve seen opposition to energy projects of all kinds with activist groups obstructing development every step of the way. We will continue to work with members of both parties to advance real solutions to climate change that build on American energy leadership and protect the good-paying union jobs our industry supports in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania and across the country.”

The U.S. has reduced CO2 emissions more than any other nation since 2000, and methane emissions relative to natural gas production from five of the largest U.S. producing regions, such as the Permian, have fallen more than 60 percent between 2011 and 2018. The industry is also taking action through The Environmental Partnership – a coalition of oil and natural gas companies committed to advancing technology, sharing best practices and continuously improving the industry’s environmental performance.

API recently released a study prepared by ICF that examined the critical importance of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports for reducing global emissions. Learn more here.

API represents all segments of America’s oil and natural gas industry. Our more than 600 members produce, process and distribute most of the nation’s energy. The industry supports more than ten million U.S. jobs and is backed by a growing grassroots movement of millions of Americans. API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization. In our first 100 years, API has developed more than 700 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.

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