Biden Cabinet members actions and issues: on Energy & Oil
Janet Yellen:
Can't solve climate crisis without effective carbon pricing
During her confirmation hearing, Yellen talked about climate change as a priority, describing it as an existential threat and a risk to the financial system. In response to senators' questions, she wrote that she believes "we cannot solve the climate
crisis without effective carbon pricing" and that President Joe Biden "supports an enforcement mechanism that requires polluters to bear the full cost of the carbon pollution they are emitting."
Source: TheConversation.com blog on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Jan 19, 2021
Deb Haaland:
Will work to undo fossil fuel development on public lands
Rep. Haaland has said she would work to undo public lands policies that have led to a shortsighted focus on fossil fuel development, instead expanding renewable energy production. Fossil fuels drilled and mined on public lands account for nearly
one-quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, and experts say addressing such development would be an important step in confronting climate change.
Source: The Wilderness Society on Biden Cabinet
Dec 19, 2020
Deb Haaland:
Campaigned on climate change, backs Green New Deal
Haaland said she would be a "partner" to address the impacts of climate change and environmental injustice. She protested the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline at Standing Rock in 2016 and her first congressional campaign in
2018 was centered on climate change and environmental justice. She backs the Green New Deal to address climate change and economic inequality that is to the left of positions taken by Biden, who has nonetheless called it a "crucial framework."
Source: 19th News e-zine on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Dec 18, 2020
Jennifer Granholm:
Picked for DOE as advocate for clean energy development
If confirmed by the Senate, she will be the second woman to lead the department, which is in charge of the country's nuclear weapons arsenal but also oversees renewable energy technology and fossil fuel production. Biden's move to put Granholm,
an advocate for clean energy development, at the helm of the Energy Department emphasizes the role it plays in making environmental policy, in addition to overseeing the country's nuclear arsenal.
Source: 19th News e-zine on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Dec 18, 2020
Deb Haaland:
Anti-fracking, supports Green New Deal
The 60-year Democrat told the Guardian in 2019 that she was "wholeheartedly against fracking and drilling on public lands." Some Republicans fear her support of the Green New Deal will go further than Biden's plan to just end new fracking
initiatives. "As a Native American woman who's ancestral homeland is under attack from the Fossil Fuel Industry: I 100% support a Green New Deal and a Congressional Climate Commission," she wrote in a 2018 tweet.
Source: Fox Business on Biden Cabinet: Interior Department
Dec 17, 2020
John Kerry:
Avoid Senate votes on voluntary emissions reductions
In Paris in 2015, Kerry insisted on a structure of voluntary emissions reductions commitments, because he knew a formal treaty would never be ratified by the Senate--just as the 1997 Kyoto Protocol was never ratified by the United States.
In both cases, US diplomats were hamstrung by the knowledge that the US Senate wouldn't approve a treaty with legally binding commitments.
Source: Sierra Club press release on Biden Cabinet
Dec 16, 2020
John Kerry:
Net carbon neutral by 2050; must lay out path to get there
John Kerry wants to strengthen the Paris climate accord, which he helped write, suggesting a pivot for U.S. policy when he becomes the nation's climate czar. "It has to be stronger," Kerry told NBC, stressing that the multinational deal
was always intended to be a first step. "I'm confident we can get there," he said. "The issue is, are we going to get there in time? And that's our race. This is our moonshot."
Kerry said he wants companies to be net carbon neutral by 2050 and implement measurements to track their progress. "We have to lay out a pathway,"
he said. "We have to show people what countries are going to do between 2025, 2030, 2035. You can't just put a target 40 years out or 30 years out and pretend that we have done the deal."
Source: NBC News on Biden Cabinet, "Paris climate accord"
Dec 9, 2020
John Kerry:
Secured agreement to phase down use of super-pollutant HFC
In November 2016, then Secretary of State John Kerry held court in a hotel room in Kigali, Rwanda, to help secure one of the most important and little-known international climate agreements in history. The agreement, known as the
Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, has now begun to phase down the use of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants, climate super-pollutants that would otherwise have caused as much as 0.5 degrees Celsius of additional global warming by 2050.
Source: InsideClimateNews.org on Biden Cabinet
Nov 25, 2020
John Kerry:
First on National Security Council to work on climate change
John Kerry, one of the leading architects of the Paris climate agreement, is getting one more chance to lead the fight against climate change after President-elect Joe Biden named the longtime senator and former secretary of state
as climate envoy for national security. It will be a prominent role, with Kerry becoming the first member of the National Security Council to focus exclusively on climate change.
Source: Associated Press on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Nov 23, 2020
Cedric Richmond:
Staunch ally of state's oil, gas, chemical industries
Throughout his decade in Congress, Richmond has been a staunch ally of his state's oil, gas and chemicals industries -- breaking with Democratic leadership to vote with Republicans to approve permitting for the Keystone XL oil pipeline and repeal
a ban on exporting crude oil.Richmond's record has earned him a 76% lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters, which tracks how many pro-environment votes members take. All but 12 House Democrats score above 80%.
Source: E&E News on O.P.E. Biden Cabinet
Nov 18, 2020
Cedric Richmond:
Supported fracking, 76% Conservation Voters lifetime rating
Richmond has repeatedly broken with his party on major climate and environmental votes. He voted against Democratic legislation to place pollution limits on fracking -- and he voted for GOP legislation to limit the Obama administration's authority
to more stringently regulate the practice. Richmond has received a lifetime rating of 76% from the League of Conservation Voters, and he scored 46% in 2018 -- one of the lowest ratings of any Democrat in Congress.
Source: Jacobin magazine on Biden Cabinet
Nov 17, 2020
John Kerry:
Advised fund setting global price for carbon emissions
Now the former Massachusetts senator and US secretary of state is taking the battle to Wall Street. Kerry has become an investor in and adviser to a fund launched over the summer on the New York Stock Exchange that is attempting to
set a global price for carbon emissions. Economists have long believed that if the actual cost of pollution can be established, it will incentivize the market to manage climate risk and fund innovation to reduce global warming.
Source: Boston Globe on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Sep 20, 2020
Marty Walsh:
Vice chair of Climate-Smart Low-Carbon Cities Summit
Mayors from China and the US will gather in Boston next year for the Climate-Smart Low-Carbon Cities Summit. Participants believe that, "As part of the climate change problem, cities also have the opportunity to be integral to its solution."
As vice chair of the group, Mayor Walsh flew to Beijing (with travel expenses paid for by Bloomberg Philanthropies) alongside Secretary of State John Kerry. Alongside Secretary Kerry and local Chinese leaders, Walsh announced plans for the 2017 meeting.
Source: Christian Science Monitor on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Mar 16, 2014
Page last updated: May 20, 2021