The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Biden’s oil transition plan ‘doesn’t sound revolutionary’ says lecturer
Presidential hopeful Joe Biden’s plan to “transition” away from oil and gas “does not sound very revolutionary”, according to an Aberdeen University lecturer.
During the final debate with Donald Trump on Thursday night, the Democratic candidate said he “would transition away from the oil industry, yes” during the closing minutes.
He added: “The oil industry pollutes, significantly. It has to be replaced by renewable energy over time.”
His opponent Donald Trump described it as a “big statement”, suggesting it could hurt Mr Biden in oil-heavy states ahead of the November 3 election, though Biden emphasised it as a “transition”, not a ban on fossil fuels.
It comes after the Biden campaign released a $2 trillion climate plan in July, aimed at net- zero greenhouse gas emissions for the country by 2050.
However Marc Gronwald, energy economics lecturer at Aberdeen Un i v e r s i t y, highlighted that, by international standards, this is not a new concept. He said: “What Biden has announced does not sound very revolutionary: net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is very similar to objectives in the UK (net-zero by 2050) or Scotland (net-zero by 2045). Even China announced a plan to become carbon neutral by 2060. Biden only emphasised that there would be no ban, just a slow transition away from oil and gas by phasing out subsidies.”
Mr Trump claimed Mr Biden’s plan aims to “destroy the oil industry”, adding: “Wi l l you remember that Te x a s ? Pennsylvania? Oklahoma? Ohio?”. These are all states the president won in 2016.
However, Mr Biden’s plan focuses on transitioning out of oil and gas over time and focusing on tech to capture emissions, as the UK North Sea industry is currently doing. Mike Tholen, of Oil and Gas UK, said: “The transition Biden speaks of is becoming apparent – America is already acting to cut its emissions.”