Americans are experiencing the worst energy crisis in decades, and energy costs are still rapidly increasing as a result of poorly reasoned policies. One of those policies was the Biden administration’s April 2021 pledge to the United Nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 50-52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, representing an additional 30 percent cut from current levels in just 8 years.
Because of the enormous economic and societal impact of the pledge, TPPF submitted requests to numerous federal agencies under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to disclose any communications between the Biden Administration and energy experts and economists within the federal government to inform the 50-52 percent reduction pledge. One such agency was the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the agency in charge of collecting and disseminating energy-related information.
However, the EIA responded to the TPPF FOIA request by saying that it did not have any records, either within EIA or from any of its contractors, of any correspondence, analysis, or forecasts related to the White House’s pledge to the United Nations, which is a stunning example of the Biden Administration making a pledge without any authority from Congress or input from knowledgeable energy experts within the federal government.
“Accountability and transparency are vital to American democracy, and we are not receiving either with the Biden Administration,” said Jason Isaac, Director of Life:Powered. “Not consulting the agency in charge of energy information and research before making a pledge to reduce energy-related emissions is appalling. It is clear the administration does not want to even consider the potential cost of meeting this pledge.”