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BAKU, Azerbaijan — Republican lawmakers on Saturday foreshadowed America’s global climate message for the world under President-elect Donald Trump: Buy more U.S. natural gas.
The assertions by five GOP Congress members at the COP29 climate talks contrasted sharply with global pledges to phase down fossil fuels, an overriding theme of the international summit.
“American natural gas has helped us reduce emissions more than any other nation, and we have the capacity to continue to helping our allies reduce their emissions by exporting clean, reliable sources like LNG and nuclear,” Texas Rep. August Pfluger told reporters Saturday.
The visit by Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee came as Biden administration officials and allies sought to assure other nations that U.S. climate action will continue at the state level and in corporate boardrooms. But Trump has pledged to dismember the climate law signed by President Joe Biden in 2022, roll back environmental regulations and encourage additional production of U.S. oil and gas, which is already at record-high levels.
The Republicans called for a “diverse” energy portfolio that includes nuclear power, liquefied natural gas, fusion energy and carbon capture technologies. They argued that using U.S. gas results in less climate pollution than if it came from Russia or other countries, and they expressed concern that China would benefit from an expansion of clean energy such as solar because it dominates manufacturing of panels and other parts.
“With technology, we can solve a lot of these problems without just banning fossil fuels,” said Republican Rep. Morgan Griffith, who represents Virginia coal country.
Pfluger, who is leading the delegation, said Americans elected Trump on his pledge to lower the costs of goods like energy, and the incoming Congress would scrutinize the Inflation Reduction Act to identify provisions that go against Trump’s priorities.
“If there are pieces of the IRA that help support lowering American energy costs, helping Americans, helping our partners and allies have access to affordable, reliable energy, then I bet that those will stay in place,” Pfluger said.
Biden administration officials have also worked to highlight the durability of the Inflation Reduction Act and its hundreds of billions of dollars in tax credits and clean energy incentives. But the outgoing government has little time to lock in what funding it can.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told reporters Friday that it would be up to the Trump administration to determine whether to restart the permitting process for new liquefied natural gas export terminals that had been halted under Biden. Trump has pressed for it to resume.
“The U.S. election will have a negative climate impact. I think that’s not only easy to say, it’s obvious,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) told reporters Saturday. He’s at COP29 with Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) to highlight his support for methane reductions and carbon border taxes.
Negotiators at the climate conference are focused on establishing a new and much larger global goal for climate finance, finalizing guidelines for a worldwide carbon market that countries can use to meet their climate targets, and reaffirming a commitment made at last year’s summit to phase down fossil fuels.
The International Energy Agency has said no new oil and gas projects are compatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Trump has promised to withdraw the U.S. from the agreement when he takes office, just as he did during his first term.
Ahead of their trip to Baku, several Republican lawmakers said U.S. negotiators should avoid agreeing to any outcome at COP29 that might go against Trump’s priorities. Pfluger said that would be “disrespectful” to the incoming government.
“We need to do what’s best for us,” said Rep. Troy Balderson (R-Ohio).
