OPINION:
According to recent reports, several U.S.-based international oil giants are lobbying former President Donald Trump, should he win the election, to keep President Biden’s Green New Deal tax credits and other corporate welfare perks. Big Oil was once the fiercest opponent of Mr. Biden’s climate agenda, but now it is embracing the very law put in place to dismantle its own industry.
Against all logic, the major oil companies are cashing in on short-term gains from the Inflation Reduction Act’s taxpayer-funded subsidies, even though its goal is to shut them down. They’ve sided with their own executioners for quick profits, and American consumers and small oil and natural gas businesses will pay the price.
It’s a betrayal of their mission to provide cheap, reliable energy, leaving small, independent producers — which develop nearly all of the nation’s oil and gas wells — holding the Green New Deal’s garbage bag.
While I respect the role major oil companies play, Texas independents drive a significant share of the state’s energy production and the vast majority of exploration activity. These businesses are the backbone of America’s oil and gas development, providing energy security, creating jobs and stabilizing prices. Yet they’re being sidelined by policies that reward Big Oil for teaming up with the climate lobby.
Small oil and gas producers, which don’t have the luxury of hiring high-powered lobbyists to legislatively win them generous subsidies, are left up a creek without a paddle. These businesses have kept America running for decades, many of which are being strangled by the very regulations and market distortions the Inflation Reduction Act is causing. Rising costs, increased compliance burdens and a shrinking market for traditional oil and gas are all byproducts of policies that, ironically, Big Oil now supports.
But Big Oil’s surrender to the green lobby hurts consumers the most. As multinational corporations cash in on tax breaks to pursue hobby projects, the cost of energy is creeping higher for ordinary Americans. Let’s be clear: These costs will be passed along. Look no further than the price of electricity, which has risen 20% since the Biden-Harris administration took office.
Whether at the gas pump or on monthly energy bills, consumers are footing the bill for Big Oil’s romance with the climate change lobby. And as prices rise, it’s the smaller businesses that will be forced to close their doors, killing jobs and stifling economic growth. Meanwhile, Big Oil benefits further by being able to buy their assets on the cheap.
And for what? To reduce carbon emissions? Laws such as the Inflation Reduction Act don’t achieve that. They merely shift emissions to dirtier producers overseas, allowing U.S. companies to appear green while nothing changes.
It’s all about optics, making liberals feel good without delivering real environmental benefits. Instead of cutting emissions, we’re simply outsourcing them to countries with looser regulations, which does nothing to improve the global climate.
As Mr. Biden himself acknowledged: “The United States accounts for less than 15% of carbon emissions. The rest of the world accounts for 85%. … Even if we do everything perfect, it’s not going to matter.”
As an oil and gas regulator, I’m deeply concerned. This is not a market-driven transition, but rather a government-manufactured system that puts Main Street producers out of business to the benefit of Big Oil.
We need to wake up. Big Oil might be too fat and lazy to care, but the small, independent producers still matter. They deserve a fair shot, not a game rigged by liberal politicians in Washington in favor of multinational giants that have forgotten what it means to be part of America’s economic backbone.
• Wayne Christian is Texas railroad commissioner.
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