Americans are experiencing some of the highest energy costs in decades as a result of poorly reasoned federal 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 impacts of such a pledge, TPPF submitted numerous FOIA requests for any communications between the Biden Administration and energy experts and economists within the federal government that would have formulated the 50-52 percent reduction goal. Those agencies include the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the agency in charge of collecting and disseminating energy-related information, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
However, the EIA and the EPA both responded to the TPPF FOIA requests by saying that they did not have any records, either within the agency 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 environmental protection and research before making a pledge to reduce energy-related emissions to supposedly protect the environment is appalling. It is clear the administration does not want to even consider the potential cost of meeting this pledge.”