While one hand of the Biden administration is promoting renewable energy initiatives, the other is handing out an abundance of fossil fuel drilling permits. Is this hypocrisy, or just the tails of previous legal commitments, which will not harm the American determination to lead the global fight against the climate crisis?
Dr. Neta LYefman, Azula - Science and Environment News Agency
Not long ago, the UN climate conference (COP26) closed in Glasgow, with feeling acidification Easy, but also with an explicit promise from the United States that it will return to being a leading and dominant player in dealing with the climate crisis. And here, almost in the same breath, the Biden administration offered at auction contractual lease של Drilling oil and gas in the bay מקסיקו. This was not just any sale, but the largest sale of its kind recorded in recent years: more than 80 million dunams in the Gulf of Mexico (almost 15 times the area of the State of Israel) that hold enormous potential for the mining of fossil fuels, the mining and use of which, according to all experts, accelerates global warming The country is deadly and we are being led towards a catastrophic climate crisis.
This is a step that stands in complete contradiction to his promises Previous ones של Biden Stop new fossil fuel drilling on US public lands and its territorial waters. If it is not enough in the perforated part, it is enough Promises U.S To reduce carbon emissions to a minimum by 2050, the auction two weeks ago punches another huge hole in the new climate policy of the American power.
The US Department of the Interior, which oversees public lands and waters, appreciated that the area in question in the Gulf of Mexico has a production potential of about 1.12 billion barrels of oil and about 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas. If that is not enough, then the American government is putting up for separate sale areas in Cook Bay in Alaska, from which it will be possible to produce another 192 million barrels of oil and about one billion cubic meters of gas for drilling.
If all the drilling potential is realized, these leases will result in the emission of Almost 600 million tone של gaseous greenhouse In the coming decades - more than the total annual emissions of Great Britain.
More than 300 drilling permits every month
This is a problematic move in several ways. First, despite the many promises, fiery speeches and determined slogans, it seems that behind the speech stages not only do the fossil fuel businesses continue as usual, but they are becoming more radical. during the last year, Given USA"ב יותר מ-300 My permits Drilling Averaged per month, a faster pace than even the days of the coal, gas and oil-supporting Trump administration.
Secondly, the issue of the climate crisis is a global problem that requires global mobilization and Biden's USA has tried to create an image that it is the responsible adult who understands the magnitude of the hour and therefore takes it upon himself to lead the world in dealing with the burning issue. Even so, it was difficult to re-buy the world's trust after Trump's unilateral departure from the Paris Agreements. There is no doubt that oil and gas drilling approval is after that experts Pointers About כך That to stop You the mining Immediately, he is no less disdainful of the many partners who planted their jewels in the new administration.
Third, for many who live on the Gulf Coast, the vast expansion of oil drilling is of great concern because Leakage oil Dangerous Like the one that happened in April 2010, which earned the dubious title of "the greatest environmental disaster in history". It can be said that those who have been burned by caustic soda with disastrous short-term and long-term effects, are doubly careful, even from the very thought of caustic soda.
12 new wind turbines
During the race for the White House, Biden stated that if elected, no more subsidies would be given to the fossil fuel industry and that the administration under his leadership would no longer allow drilling on federal lands, including offshore. After taking office, Biden sought to fulfill at least part of this vision, while temporarily halting the issuance of oil and gas drilling permits on publicly owned lands and in the ocean area, until a renewed examination of their impact on the environment and climate is carried out.
As expected, the oil and gas industry vigorously opposed Biden's decisions and pulled out the strongest card in the American discourse: jobs. Biden's move, argued the fossil fuel energy industry, puts thousands of jobs at risk and will ultimately cause energy prices to rise. Twelve states sued to lift the freeze and in June 12 a federal judge in Louisiana ruled in their favor and ruled that the administration had not taken the necessary steps to suspend new contracts.
While one arm of the Biden administration is losing legal petitions to oil and gas companies, another arm is trying to produce sustainable solutions for renewable energy. So, for example, last week Approved Establishment Farms The wind the marine The first that will provide clean electricity to the state of New York. 12 wind turbines will be located off the coast of Rhode Island and are part of the administration's goals to take advantage of the strong winds of the Atlantic Ocean and produce, by 2030, 30 gigawatts of wind energy from the sea.
Currently, only seven offshore wind turbines are operating in the USA - five in Rhode Island and two in Virginia, while in Europe they have already been installed יותר מ-5,000 turbines maritime.
upon completion, The project החדש It will produce about 130 megawatts a year, enough to supply electricity to about 70,000 homes. Construction of an underground transmission line may begin as early as January 2022, with the entire operation scheduled to begin at the end of 2023. This is actually the first wind farm to supply electricity to the state of New York, which has set itself a goal Switch to 2040 percent renewable energies by XNUMX.
Admittedly, the joint venture between the Danish energy giant Orsted and Eversource, an American company that supplies electricity in New England, still needs to receive approvals from the Environmental Protection Agency, the US Army and other regulators in order to move forward with the work, but it seems that the highlight here is not only a huge investment in renewable energy infrastructures, but also the promise to create thousands of jobs in the trade unions. the companies already Are found in contacts Advanced with the "Coalition of the Construction Workers Union" in order to guarantee many jobs in the new project. The Biden administration intends to develop about 16 additional commercial offshore wind energy programs by 2025.
By the way, this new move also has as expected Row של Opponents, starting with residents who fear damage to the view from their windows, through fishermen who are worried about damage to their livelihood, to animal rights activists, who fear the effect of the turbines on whales that are in danger of extinction.
divert the ship to a new course
It is true, there are objections, there are trends that developed back in the days of the Trump administration and lease agreements that were already at the end of the pipeline for approval and the gas and oil companies can also go to the courts and claim their rights, but in the big picture, it seems that the Biden administration is succeeding in creating a sense in the world that it is committed to slowing down the climate crisis, to curbing consumption of polluting fuels and a rapid transition to renewable energies. It requires a lot of political experience, quite a few good lawyers, creative thinking, deep pockets and significant public support. The more the government feels that the public is aware of the connection between the continued mining and use of fossil fuels and the droughts, fires, rising temperatures and dangerous floods it has experienced in recent years, the more successfully it will be possible to divert the huge and cumbersome ship of the energy industry from the old and polluting course towards a new and clean course.
