2:05 p.m. ET, April 22, 2021
These groups are calling on Biden to promote natural gas as key player in reaching climate goals
From CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich
Al Drago/The New York Times/Bloomberg/Getty Images
As US President Biden engages in a
two-day virtual climate summit with world leaders, the fracking industry in Pennsylvania is reminding him of their importance to reach his climate goals.
In a letter to the White House Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association, Pittsburgh Works, and the Marcellus Shale Coalition are calling on the administration to “promote policies reflecting the essential role American natural gas plays in this endeavor.”
“The workers and local small businesses driving the economy and helping to build America back are essential to a low-carbon future which cannot be achieved without an affordable and reliable source of clean energy. Natural gas is, and should continue to be, the key to our country’s environmental progress,” the letter states.
In his first days in office, Biden
ordered a moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal land and water areas. However, the move was a far cry from the ban on fracking President Trump claimed Biden would initiate. Fracking – or the drilling for natural gas — supports an estimated 30,000 jobs in Pennsylvania, according to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Natural gas, along with solar and wind energy, is needed in order to advance climate and economic goals, according to the letter.
“Domestically, a clean, reliable and resilient power grid based on natural gas and renewable energy sources working together is the only technologically feasible way of affordably meeting your climate goals for a carbon-free electrical grid by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2050,” the letter states.