More proof the act isn’t about reducing inflation
The Democrats’ climate deal also has plenty for oil producers to like
The recently announced Inflation Reduction Act has been celebrated as Congress’s biggest investment in fighting climate change, but the 725-page bill also has benefits for the fossil fuel industry.
While the bill’s centerpiece is about $385 billion towards funding climate change efforts, the sprawling legislation also includes “bits” for the fossil fuel industry, as economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin put it to Yahoo Finance. Those bits include provisions that may spur greater oil production, open new areas to drilling, and incentivize “carbon capture” technology.
The bill does come with new taxes on the industry, but this latest effort is indisputably friendlier to fossil fuel producers than last year’s stalled “Build Back Better” effort. Exxon (XOM) Darren Woods has told investors the bill was a “step in the right direction,” and others in the industry have also praised the bill.
It has definitely made unhinged climate scam groups unhappy
Manchin says his deal includes a future Senate vote on a more widespread permitting reform bill, which the oil industry has long been calling for. That bill, details of which are scarce, could open more areas for drilling and also spur the building of more natural gas pipelines.
To be sure, most climate activists have celebrated the measure and the billions put aside for green energy. Still, some have focused on the Manchin-led provisions, calling them a giveaway.
“This bill is more of a climate scam bill than a climate change bill,” a group called 350.org said.
Does Bill realize that the Biden admin will pretty much allow none of the oil and nuclear provisions to come to fruition? How about the oil companies? Do they think they will get any benefit?
Still, Josiah Neeley, a senior energy fellow at the “limited government” think tank R Street Institute, notes that drilling rights can often change dramatically from administration to administration. These rules changes could have the benefit of leading to more “stability and predictability” in the coming years, he said.
There is that. A Republican wins the White House in 2024 and all those pro-oil and nuclear provisions could be enacted.
Read: Climate Scam Groups Unhappy With Climate Bill, AKA Inflation Reduction Act »