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Opponents of Canadian company Enbridge's Line 3 tar sands pipeline march to the White House in Washington, D.C. on April 1, 2021 to call on President Joe Biden to cancel the toxic project's permit. (Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
Two dozen fossil fuel infrastructure projects that President Joe Biden can block via executive action would produce as much annual greenhouse gas pollution as 404 coal-fired power plants--or the equivalent of roughly 20% of all 2019 U.S. emissions--according to a report published Tuesday.
"Building new fossil fuel infrastructure and increasing U.S. emissions at a time when we must persuade other countries to reduce their use of fossil fuels sends the wrong signal to every nation."
The Oil Change International briefing found that the combined greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the analyzed projects--which include the Line 3, Dakota Access, and Mountain Valley pipelines and 20 liquified gas terminals--"would be larger than all current U.S. coal power plants combined, moving the United States away from Paris agreement commitments."
The total estimated emissions of the two dozen projects are far greater than those of the 294 coal-fired power plants currently operating in the continental United States, the report found.
The Biden administration "will make decisions on these and additional projects in the next three years," the paper notes. "Stopping these fossil fuel infrastructure projects would prevent a drastic increase in GHG pollution at a time when it is imperative to decrease GHG emissions to adhere to domestic and international climate goals and commitments, including the Paris agreement that President Biden rejoined."
The new report comes amid a week of #PeopleVsFossilFuels climate protests in Washington, D.C., and as world leaders prepare to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conferense--also known as COP 26--in Glasgow, Scotland at the end of the month.
"We urge the Biden administration to course-correct," Oil Change International research analyst Kyle Gracey said in a statement. "Other nations are looking closely at the U.S. and President Biden, who will set the tone for how we address this crisis as a global community. Building new fossil fuel infrastructure and increasing U.S. emissions at a time when we must persuade other countries to reduce their use of fossil fuels sends the wrong signal to every nation."
"As alarming as these projected emissions are," Gracey added, "the silver lining is that President Biden has the authority and opportunity to stop these projects."
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Two dozen fossil fuel infrastructure projects that President Joe Biden can block via executive action would produce as much annual greenhouse gas pollution as 404 coal-fired power plants--or the equivalent of roughly 20% of all 2019 U.S. emissions--according to a report published Tuesday.
"Building new fossil fuel infrastructure and increasing U.S. emissions at a time when we must persuade other countries to reduce their use of fossil fuels sends the wrong signal to every nation."
The Oil Change International briefing found that the combined greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the analyzed projects--which include the Line 3, Dakota Access, and Mountain Valley pipelines and 20 liquified gas terminals--"would be larger than all current U.S. coal power plants combined, moving the United States away from Paris agreement commitments."
The total estimated emissions of the two dozen projects are far greater than those of the 294 coal-fired power plants currently operating in the continental United States, the report found.
The Biden administration "will make decisions on these and additional projects in the next three years," the paper notes. "Stopping these fossil fuel infrastructure projects would prevent a drastic increase in GHG pollution at a time when it is imperative to decrease GHG emissions to adhere to domestic and international climate goals and commitments, including the Paris agreement that President Biden rejoined."
The new report comes amid a week of #PeopleVsFossilFuels climate protests in Washington, D.C., and as world leaders prepare to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conferense--also known as COP 26--in Glasgow, Scotland at the end of the month.
"We urge the Biden administration to course-correct," Oil Change International research analyst Kyle Gracey said in a statement. "Other nations are looking closely at the U.S. and President Biden, who will set the tone for how we address this crisis as a global community. Building new fossil fuel infrastructure and increasing U.S. emissions at a time when we must persuade other countries to reduce their use of fossil fuels sends the wrong signal to every nation."
"As alarming as these projected emissions are," Gracey added, "the silver lining is that President Biden has the authority and opportunity to stop these projects."
Two dozen fossil fuel infrastructure projects that President Joe Biden can block via executive action would produce as much annual greenhouse gas pollution as 404 coal-fired power plants--or the equivalent of roughly 20% of all 2019 U.S. emissions--according to a report published Tuesday.
"Building new fossil fuel infrastructure and increasing U.S. emissions at a time when we must persuade other countries to reduce their use of fossil fuels sends the wrong signal to every nation."
The Oil Change International briefing found that the combined greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the analyzed projects--which include the Line 3, Dakota Access, and Mountain Valley pipelines and 20 liquified gas terminals--"would be larger than all current U.S. coal power plants combined, moving the United States away from Paris agreement commitments."
The total estimated emissions of the two dozen projects are far greater than those of the 294 coal-fired power plants currently operating in the continental United States, the report found.
The Biden administration "will make decisions on these and additional projects in the next three years," the paper notes. "Stopping these fossil fuel infrastructure projects would prevent a drastic increase in GHG pollution at a time when it is imperative to decrease GHG emissions to adhere to domestic and international climate goals and commitments, including the Paris agreement that President Biden rejoined."
The new report comes amid a week of #PeopleVsFossilFuels climate protests in Washington, D.C., and as world leaders prepare to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conferense--also known as COP 26--in Glasgow, Scotland at the end of the month.
"We urge the Biden administration to course-correct," Oil Change International research analyst Kyle Gracey said in a statement. "Other nations are looking closely at the U.S. and President Biden, who will set the tone for how we address this crisis as a global community. Building new fossil fuel infrastructure and increasing U.S. emissions at a time when we must persuade other countries to reduce their use of fossil fuels sends the wrong signal to every nation."
"As alarming as these projected emissions are," Gracey added, "the silver lining is that President Biden has the authority and opportunity to stop these projects."