As U.S. President Joe Biden reportedly prepares to tout his administration’s climate change goals with fellow G-7 summit leaders, the head of one of America’s largest energy companies laid out Biden’s renewable energy implications.
"It's really important to present the facts," TC Energy CEO Francois Poirier said on "Mornings with Maria" Thursday. "You have to bring a little bit of reality to the conversation."
Poirier and his company had owned and operated the Keystone XL Pipeline project before Biden’s administration halted its construction. According to the CEO, they lost the ability to transport 800,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
While advocating for an "all-of-the-above approach" to gaining greater American energy independence, Poirier also emphasized the important role natural gas plays in that equation.
FORMER KEYSTONE PIPELINE WORKER RIPS BIDEN AFTER COMMENTS ON OIL PRODUCTION
America's natural gas can not only help reduce emissions, he argued, but also provide energy security to the world – which he additionally indicated as the message President Biden should give at the G-7 summit this week.
"Politicians have a very difficult job trying to balance the needs and ideologies of seven different countries. What I can tell you on the ground, we talk to investors, we talk to policymakers, we talk to consumers of energy around the world, and it's very clear that they want U.S. natural gas to displace fuel oil and coal," Poirier explained, "thereby giving them energy security as well as lowering their emissions."
Climate change goals and the shift to renewable energy was a top priority at the G-7 summit last year, too, as a White House press release noted President Biden discussed climate initiatives as one of the "pillars" of the 21st century.
Talks last year reportedly detailed "tackling the climate crisis and bolstering global energy security through investments in climate resilient infrastructure, transformational energy technologies, and developing clean energy supply chains across the full integrated lifecycle."
Poirier claimed the Biden administration is investing in "uncertainty," and what the industry truly needs includes more natural gas permits, infrastructure and funding.
"We need to invest in more pipelines and more liquefaction facilities, we need a clear set of rules and well-defined timelines to allow us to have the certainty to invest in building those pipelines and getting natural gas to the coasts of the continent," the CEO said.
Though the Keystone project had to pump its brakes, the energy leader believes there are still opportunities to give America its greatest chance at energy independence.
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"We need more natural gas. We need more crude oil. We need more coal," Poirier said. "We also need more electricity in all different forms. So if you want to make sure that there's energy security as well as sustainability, we're going to need more of everything."
In addition to the climate debate, President Biden’s international trip has been met with brewing tensions at home over a debt ceiling stalemate, forcing the president to cut his visit to the East short.
