EDITORIAL: Steps toward a more rational U.S. energy policy

Joe Biden entered the Oval Office four years ago vowing to make like life miserable for America’s traditional energy producers. Four years later, Donald Trump returns to the White House with a markedly different perspective.

The country will be far better served by the latter.

One of Mr. Biden’s first acts as president was to sign an executive order putting a stop to new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters, which account for about 25 percent of U.S. production. This came after Mr. Biden, on the campaign trail in 2019, vowed to “end fossil fuel.” Later, as he prepared to leave the White House, Mr. Biden issued orders intended to prevent exploration and drilling in waters off both coasts and around Alaska.

This was done as a sop to progressive activists in the name of fighting climate change. Never mind that the billions in taxpayer handouts that the Biden administration showered on green special interests did virtually nothing to bring down global temperatures. A 2019 paper by the University of Oregon’s Richard York concluded that, while “renewable energy sources compose a larger share of overall energy production, they are not replacing fossil fuels but are rather expanding the overall amount of energy that is produced.”

Many greens argue that subsidies for solar, wind and other renewable energy sources are simply a means of leveling the playing field because fossil fuels have long received special tax treatment. But according to an MIT report, “The Energy Information Administration says half of the federal money spent to subsidize energy from 2016 to 2022 went to renewables, while less than 15 percent went to oil, gas and coal. And that doesn’t include tens of billions of dollars per year in clean energy tax credits from 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act.”

Mr. Trump, in contrast, isn’t interested in chasing rainbows and pipe dreams regarding the end of fossil fuels. That day is nowhere near given the state of current technology and the desire to avoid knee-capping the U.S. economy. The new president realizes the folly inherent in ignoring the scope of our vast natural assets by arbitrarily restricting development of the resources necessary to provide Americans with the highest standard of living in the world.

To this end, Mr. Trump in the past week has sought to dismantle Mr. Biden’s orders on oil and gas production while scaling back unproductive green energy handouts and making it easier for producers to navigate the byzantine permitting process for exploration and pipelines. While oil and gas companies will still face hurdles erected by green activists — and may be reluctant to ramp up investment due to fear that a future Democratic administration might scuttle their plans — Mr. Trump’s moves are a step toward a more rational American energy policy.