{"id":319362,"date":"2021-09-20T21:08:55","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T21:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/radiofree.asia\/?guid=6430f9e013cd46dbcd4c2cd4c53741b7"},"modified":"2021-09-20T21:08:55","modified_gmt":"2021-09-20T21:08:55","slug":"exxon-tied-manchin-favors-climate-policies-pushed-by-the-oil-and-gas-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/09\/20\/exxon-tied-manchin-favors-climate-policies-pushed-by-the-oil-and-gas-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Exxon-Tied Manchin Favors Climate Policies Pushed by the Oil and Gas Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Joe<\/a>

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) could throw a major wrench into Democrats\u2019 reconciliation bill as the person in charge of the bill\u2019s climate provisions — and as a lawmaker with deep ties to the fossil fuel industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

On behalf of companies <\/span>like Exxon<\/span><\/a>, oil and gas lobbyists have descended upon Washington to oppose taxation and climate provisions in early drafts of the $3.5 trillion bill. In hopes of directly influencing Manchin, they have been calling him, writing to him and meeting with him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Manchin, in turn, is working to ensure that the bill\u2019s climate proposals \u201cprotect and extend the use of coal and natural gas,\u201d <\/span>according to the <\/span>New York Times<\/span><\/i><\/a>. He has positioned himself largely against the Clean Electricity Performance Program, which would incentivize utility companies to use zero-emissions sources and is one of the largest climate proposals in the bill. The proposal \u201cmakes no sense at all,\u201d <\/span>Manchin said<\/span><\/a> on <\/span>CNN<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

This wouldn\u2019t be the first time Manchin has welcomed fossil fuel companies\u2019 influence into a bill he\u2019s working on. Exxon <\/span>lobbyists infamously bragged<\/span><\/a> about the sway they had over the members of the Senate who wrote the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which Manchin worked on. The infrastructure bill ended up having very few climate provisions.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt wouldn\u2019t offend me at all if you said, \u2018Yes, it\u2019s getting hotter and people need to run their air conditioning more.\u2019 And Joe Manchin feels the same way,\u201d Steve Roberts, president of the <\/span>conservative-leaning<\/span><\/a> West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, <\/span>told<\/span><\/a> the <\/span>New York Times<\/span><\/i>. \u201cBut we think we have to be realistic about the elimination of carbon emissions,\u201d he added, arguing for Congress to slow down its already virtually nonexistent action against the climate crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n

Roberts discussed Manchin\u2019s ties with the business community, detailing how the senator spent two days at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce\u2019s resort earlier this month. There, he fielded conversations with business owners in the state eager to talk to the senator about climate policy.<\/span><\/p>\n

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I’m old enough to remember when a lobbyist for ExxonMobil – which allegedly has weekly meetings with Joe Machin – said this is exactly what they wanted out of a clean energy standard https:\/\/t.co\/n4FyHP89PW<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/OBCvR0xxBb<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Kate Aronoff (@KateAronoff) September 19, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n