API President and CEO Mike Sommers warned the economic impact from the ban on oil and gas drilling proposed by US presidential candidates from the Democratic Party. Sommers' statement came on Tuesday in front of 800 executives from the US energy industry, urging them to push against the campaign.
The American Petroleum Institute is the largest energy industry group in the US. The group also launched a multi-million dollar campaign targeted to US political swing states to advertise the industry's leading role in cutting greenhouse gas emissions by implementing improved technologies.
Several candidates from the Democratic Party have vowed to shift away from fossil fuels if elected. Some of them promised to ban new drilling on public lands and a national ban on hydraulic fracking. These candidates argue that solar and wind energy industries will provide jobs that will compensate for lost employment in mining and drilling.
On the other hand, API argued that the ban on fracking would cost the US economy $7.1 trillion by 2030 and put more than 7 million jobs at risk. According to Sommers, the upcoming presidential election had put the oil industry into the highlight, and the group wants to make sure the American citizens see the industry's angle.
US emissions of greenhouse gasses have been decreasing for about ten years as the country replaces old and inefficient coal-fired power plants with ones powered by natural gas. However, Trump administration's plan to roll back climate protections and other environmental regulations cast doubt on the future of US emissions reduction.
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