On Thursday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Hallie Jackson Reports,” White House National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy responded to concerns that increased regulations will cause increased gas and oil prices by stating “There’s a place for” regulation and “We’re going to use it.” McCarthy also touted hearings with oil executives on Capitol Hill as “a day of reckoning” for the oil and gas industry.
Host Hallie Jackson asked, “[T]hat big oil hearing on Capitol Hill, significant, frankly, historic that they’re all coming together. There’s this sort of — argument that you’ve heard some Republicans make that more regulations could lead to higher gas and oil prices, etc. I wonder how you respond to that and your reaction to what you have been able to see so far related to this hearing that is still ongoing, by the way.”
McCarthy responded, “Yeah, well, this is basically a day of reckoning, I think, for the oil and gas sector. Because for many decades, they denied climate change. And now that we’re, every day, seeing the wildfires, the droughts, the floods, the heat stress, people are no longer listening to that or tolerating it. So, they can’t get away with that anymore. They have to get serious about delivering clean energy and electricity to the people in this country, and they have to stop with the deception and move into this decade and help us make the transition to clean energy so that we can win the 21st century here. So, there’s no more hiding climate change. There’s no more climate deniers. This is just about who wins the future, and whoever addresses climate in the smartest way, which we intend to do, is going to be the big winner.”
Jackson then asked, “So, to Republicans who argue, hey, more regulations could mean consumers, Americans pay more on stuff, you say?”
McCarthy answered, “Well, what I would say is there’s room for regulation. But this package, this framework that the president is looking at is all about investments. It’s not about penalties. It’s all about how we use our economic muscle to move forward and, again, win the jobs of today and the jobs of the future. So, they can talk about regulation all they want. There’s a place for it. We’re going to use it. Because there’s opportunities that can’t be captured otherwise. But right now, if you look at this framework, you don’t see regulations and rules. You see opportunity after opportunity.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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