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Brut America
  • 4/21/2022
The fossil fuel industry is using the war in Ukraine as an excuse to push for more drilling and less regulations.

Brut talked to NRDC about what this could mean for our planet.
Transcript
00:00BP will continue to support those affected.
00:03In Ukraine, at the same time, we are helping ensure that the energy supply remains secure.
00:08In the face of Russia's destabilization, aggression, we need more oil and natural gas
00:12pipelines.
00:13What does the war in Ukraine have to do with US oil?
00:16These are America's top oil executives.
00:18Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th, the fossil fuel industry has been insisting
00:24that the best way to stop the war is to drill for more oil and gas here in the US.
00:29I'm speaking on behalf of all of ExxonMobil.
00:31We stand with communities around the world in deploring Russia's aggression.
00:35They've been using tweets, op-eds, and many TV appearances to make a basic argument.
00:40Russia sells lots of oil and gas, Vladimir Putin is using that money to pay for the war
00:45in Ukraine, so more US oil and gas would mean less money for Russia.
00:49And they say the only thing holding them back is the US government and its regulations.
00:54But does this idea make any sense?
00:55I asked Kim Ong, an environmental law expert at NRDC.
00:59Those statements make no sense to me.
01:01And I think, if anything, the Ukraine war only shows us just how vulnerable we are when
01:07we're addicted to fossil fuels.
01:09Fossil fuels are the primary driver of climate change.
01:12And climate change results in increased severe weather patterns for people all across the
01:19world.
01:20Communities that are low income and communities of color.
01:22They're more likely to receive dirty air because they live near an oil refinery.
01:28Or they're more in danger of drinking contaminated drinking water because they live near a fracking
01:33well.
01:34And what the fossil fuel companies are asking us to do right now is to continue digging
01:39deeper into that hole.
01:40The fossil fuel industry does not need any help from the government.
01:44The oil and gas industry has reported record windfall profits these past few months because
01:49of the dramatic increase in gas prices and oil prices.
01:53The real long-term solution to this problem is investing in energy efficiency and renewable
01:58energy and weaning ourselves finally off of our addiction to oil and gas.
02:03In this time of war, it's not a time of profit.
02:07This crisis is another indication of why we need to get off dependency on fossil fuels.
02:11Okay, but what about Europe?
02:12In theory, the U.S. could export more oil and gas to Europe since they're so dependent
02:17on Russian oil.
02:18Sending more oil and gas to Europe would only fuel our problem and deepen our addiction
02:24to fossil fuels.
02:25The problem isn't a shortage of oil and gas leases.
02:28The fossil fuel industry is awash in those.
02:31What's interesting is that they are declining to use them.
02:35And that's because it's more profitable for them when oil and gas prices are high.
02:40And what about the soaring gas prices at the pump in the U.S.?
02:44Prices at the pump can't be controlled by the president.
02:46It's just so hard to control gas prices that it's not necessarily like a exact relationship
02:53between like producing more gas and getting lower prices.
02:57This chart shows the recent disconnect between the price that companies are paying for oil
03:04and the price that American consumers are paying at the pump.
03:07While the price of oil has dropped significantly from the peak, the price that Americans are
03:14paying at the pump has not.
03:16The war is funded by oil and gas.
03:19We can step away from fossil fuels, rid ourselves of this terrible addiction that's not only
03:25destroying our planet, but destroying the people who live on it.

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