Biden admin internal climate agenda memo leaked
Former U.S. Homeland Security Adviser Dr. Julia Nesheiwat joined 'Fox & Friends Weekend' to discuss what the leaked climate memo indicates about the Biden administration's priorities.
One expert issued a stark warning to the Biden administration over its energy policy after a bombshell memo was leaked indicating climate change is being prioritized over what many critics call energy security.
Former U.S. Homeland Security Adviser Dr. Julia Nesheiwat warned the White House's energy stance will have long-term implications for the energy sector after the memo was accidentally leaked from the Department of the Interior last week.
She joined "Fox & Friends Weekend," Sunday, to discuss how the energy policy hurts the U.S. domestically, and why the economic implications are self-inflicted as Americans battle rising prices.
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"We are in a time of a global energy crisis and the fact that we're… dealing with global supply chain disruptions, the fact that… we have vast natural resources here in North America, and to be able to put one over the other… they're both important, of course, but… it's not zero-sum," Nesheiwat told co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. "It's not all or nothing, and so to be able to do that really hurts us here on the home front."
In the memo, leaked on Friday, the Biden administration admitted that charging fossil fuel companies less to drill would provide "greater energy security" despite its plans to hike royalty fees.
Former Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Amanda Lefton recommended late last year that, as part of its climate agenda, the Department of the Interior (DOI) move forward with higher royalty fees for an oil and gas lease sale spanning 958,202 acres in the Cook Inlet off the coast of Alaska, according to the memo obtained by Fox News Digital. DOI Assistant Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis ultimately signed off on the recommendation.
"If a Cook Inlet prospect would be developed, there would be additional government revenues and greater energy security for the State of Alaska, especially if development of natural gas resources in the Cook Inlet ameliorated the long-term supply challenges facing the Anchorage area," Lefton wrote in the memo.
"Nevertheless, because of the serious challenges facing the Nation from climate change and the impact of [greenhouse gasses] from fossil fuels, BOEM is not recommending this option since it would not include an appropriate surcharge to account for those impacts," she continued.
Critics have accused the Biden administration of stifling domestic energy production, while turning to foreign adversaries for energy, all in the name of climate change.
As a result, Americans have been battling rising prices at the pump as inflation sits at a four-decade high.
"When you think about what energy security is… it has to be… reliable, it has to be affordable, clean… so when you think about this… how could we not… help promote natural gas in this situation?" she asked.
Nesheiwat reiterated the U.S. has a plethora of energy sources and other technological tools to bolster its domestic energy production, and energy security, as a result.
But bolstering domestic production and promoting climate-friendly initiatives don't need to be mutually exclusive, she argued.
"I can't emphasize enough that this will hurt us in the long run," Nesheiwat warned. "Especially as we look at what's happening around the world… China, Russia dominating in the oil and gas sector and even in renewables, and the fact that we have to struggle here with higher energy prices when we have the solutions right here on the home front, when we have the technology and the innovation, when we can be investing more in nuclear, hydrogen or carbon capture… there are solutions that exist that should not be put one over the other."
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Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senator Joe Manchin (D) issued a statement after the internal memo was leaked last week, slamming the White House for "putting their radical climate agenda ahead of the needs of the people of Alaska and the United States."
He said he was "appalled" by the content.
"The contents of this memo speak volumes - if this is what this Administration truly believes and is how they are going to make decisions, it is unacceptable," Manchin said. "It’s a clear and intentional threat to energy security and the all-of-the above energy policy Congress has consistently reinforced."
Fox News' Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.
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