Trump’s ‘Energy Emergency’ will Abuse National Security Designations To Rollback Safeguards for Consumers and Climate
WASHINGTON — In one of his first acts of his administration, Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring an “energy emergency” that appears to rely heavily upon assigning questionable national security designations to oil and gas exports, as well as coal, gas and nuclear baseload electric power generation, in an effort to circumvent generations of public health and safety laws. In response, Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program issued the following statement:
“No country on earth has produced more oil and gas than America does today, so Trump’s fake emergency is all about prioritizing profits at powerful fossil fuel companies at the expense of higher prices for American families. From day one, Trump is using his executive power to pay back the fossil fuel oligarchs who helped put him in office.
“We documented how Trump tried and failed to engineer national security justifications for fossil fuel bailouts in his first term. This time, Trump’s threat is more serious and comprehensive. He’ll use the Defense Production Act to subsidize oil and gas bids in an effort to auction drilling leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; use phony national security justifications to expedite pending exports of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and oil; and exploit sham national security designations to force ratepayers to bailout baseload coal, gas and nuclear power generation under Section 202c of the Federal Power Act.
“Framing U.S. fossil fuel exports—especially oil and gas—as a new national security priority aims to bypass fundamental consumer and environmental safeguards to boost corporate bottom lines. Increasing LNG exports will directly raise prices for U.S. consumers.
“Energy affordability is an actual crisis in America, but Trump’s actions will exacerbate, not help – working families that struggle with utility bills. Dismantling consumer protections to expedite LNG exports will raise prices Americans pay for energy, and forcing working families to bailout uneconomic coal, gas and nuclear baseload generation will hike our utility bills.
“The authorities in the emergency order also likely pave the way for direct subsidies to oil, gas and even coal suppliers and utilities – a direct payback to Trump’s fossil fuel backers.
The real energy emergency facing the United States and the world, of course, is the climate crisis, which the EO ignores altogether. Unfortunately, this emergency declaration will have the effect of worsening the real emergency we face.”
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