AXPC Outlines Climate Solutions for House Subcommittee on Environment & Climate Change

WASHINGTON –  The American Exploration and Production Council (AXPC) submitted a letter for the record today to the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change of the Committee on Energy and Commerce outlining ways to restore federal climate leadership. In the letter, AXPC CEO Anne Bradbury explains:

The United States can lead on climate solutions through technology and innovation, increasing the use of natural gas for electricity around the world, and promoting the global use of U.S. LNG. Promoting policies which spur innovation can enhance our ability to demonstrate climate leadership globally – while also preserving jobs and our states’ budgets. These policies can be a catalyst to support the economic growth that we will need to recover from the economic turmoil and the painful economic recession our nation is going through as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The letter to Chairman Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Ranking Member David McKinley (R-WV) highlights that – largely due to the innovation and commitment of the oil and natural gas industry – U.S. total energy-related CO2 emissions declined significantly over the past decade, while natural gas production nearly doubled.

In addition to outlining how the oil and natural gas industry can meet the dual challenge of addressing climate change while meeting growing demand for affordable and reliable energy, AXPC explained that “opportunities for the federal government to lead, however, are being threatened by calls from Members of Congress and recent actions from the Biden Administration to restrict oil and natural gas production in the U.S. with permitting restrictions and other impediments to ongoing operations.”

Potential impacts of these policies on American families, businesses and states include increasing energy imports and increasing emissions, draining state budgets, and costing hundreds of thousands of Americans their jobs and livelihoods. For example:

• • A permitting shutdown threatens to disrupt planned and ongoing oil and gas operations on valid, contractually bound leases, which will have a negative impact on local communities as well as state and federal revenues.
  • And leasing bans on federal lands – even for a few months – harm American jobs and the significant sums of revenues provided to the federal government and states through the safe and environmentally responsible production of oil and gas on federal lands.

The full letter can be found here.

About the American Exploration and Production Council:
AXPC is a national trade association representing the largest independent oil and natural gas exploration and production companies in the United States. We lead the world in the cleanest and safest onshore production of oil and gas, while supporting millions of Americans in high-paying jobs and investing a wealth of resources in our communities. Learn more at https://axpc.org/

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