Biden gave “a 10-year life expectancy to 50-year assets” (oil & gas reserves)

In his State of the Union Address last February 7, the president of United States made interesting remarks related to climate change and energy transition. Here are a few quotes:

• Big Oil just reported its profits. Record profits. Last year, they made $200 billion in the midst of a global energy crisis. I think it’s outrageous. Why? They invested too little of that profit to increase domestic production. And when I talked to a couple of them, they say, “We were afraid you were going to shut down all the oil wells and all the oil refineries anyway, so why should we invest in them?” I said, “We’re going to need oil for at least another decade, and that’s going to exceed…” — and beyond that. We’re going to need it. Production.

• Look, the Inflation Reduction Act is also the most significant investment ever in climate change — ever. Lowering utility bills, creating American jobs, leading the world to a clean energy future. I visited the devastating aftermath of record floods, droughts, storms, and wildfires from Arizona to New Mexico to all the way up to the Canadian border. More timber has been burned that I’ve observed from helicopters than the entire state of Missouri. And we don’t have global warming?

• New electric grids that are able to weather major storms and not — prevent those fire — forest fires. Roads and water systems to withstand the next big flood. Clean energy to cut pollution and create jobs in communities often left behind. We’re going to build 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations, installed across the country by tens of thousands of IBEW workers. And we’re helping families save more than $1,000 a year with tax credits to purchase of electric vehicles and efficient — and efficient appliances — energy-efficient appliances.

• Let’s face reality. The climate crisis doesn’t care if you’re in a red or a blue state. It’s an existential threat.

Obviously, these quotes sparked more debate to the wave of criticism against ESG. Here are some reactions by US politicians about what Biden said:

• Living in a green hallucination

• If you believe that, you have missed a lot and live in a dream world.

• We rely on oil and gas for 85 to 90 percent of transportation energy. Electric vehicles, while growing in popularity, represent less than 6% of new U.S. car sales.

• He was giving a 10-year life expectancy to 50-year assets

Click at the image below to read his full speech.

PS. Do you recall when Biden said “We should be paying the Brazilians not to cut down their forest” ?