In Ari Natter on 03/03/2021
US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm
WASHINGTON (Bloomberg) – Jennifer Granholm used her first speech as the US Energy Secretary to warn oil and gas companies that they are in danger of falling behind unless they transition to cleaner energy sources at the same time. time that offers them an opportunity to partner with the new administration.
“I will not embellish how difficult the transitions are,” said Granholm on Wednesday during the IHS Markit annual CERAWeek conference. “The end result is that this specific growth in clean energy and carbon reduction offers a great opportunity and I am extending the hand of the partnership.”
Granholm’s comments come at a time when the Biden government seeks to reassure hundreds of thousands of oil, gas and coal workers who feel threatened by their fight against climate change, which includes a plan to rid the economy of greenhouse gas emissions. carbon by 2050. Biden promised not to leave any workers behind during this transition to a cleaner economy, but found skepticism in the oil sector and elsewhere.
Granholm, who previously served as Michigan governor, was confirmed last month to head the Department of Energy, an agency with an annual budget of around $ 35 billion and a diverse mission ranging from helping to build the arsenal of nuclear warheads the country to spend billions on new energy technology research.
Granholm said he would use his experience to revitalize Michigan’s economy after the 2008 recession and promised to focus on creating new jobs during the transition to clean energy. Some lawmakers representing fossil fuel producing states have been critical.
“The Biden government is telling these oil rigs, coal mines and well workers that they can simply get new jobs by ‘building solar panels’,” said Wyoming Republican Senator John Barrasso last month. “Their livelihoods are being sacrificed in the name of Biden’s agenda.”
In his comments at the conference, which is being held virtually this year, Granholm said the Biden administration has created a new Office of Energy Jobs to help fossil fuel employees identify new opportunities. Among the examples cited by Granholm were oil and gas workers using their drilling skills to harness geothermal energy and sheet metal workers reinforcing pipelines to protect themselves against methane spills.
Granholm praised the oil and gas companies that have already pledged to commit to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“The market is raising its hand and saying that we are going in a direction that you better come or you will be left behind,” said Granholm. “Perhaps we should listen to some of these signals and it is an opportunity for those working in these sectors to work with us to diversify into clean energy solutions.”
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