Misleading: Joe Biden wants to grow the fracking industry.

By: Nikita Kochhar
September 29 2020

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The claims made by Biden on growing fracking, contradicts his environmental plan, which calls for not allowing new fracking on federal lands.At the CNN Townhall on Sept. 18, Anderson Cooper asked Biden if he'd "support the continuation of fracking safely" and "growing the industry." To this, Biden said, "Yes, I do," and later added, "We can put to work right away 250,000 people from the ironworkers and other disciplines making union wages, capping those wells that are leaking methane and are a danger to the community." Biden’s past stances regarding fracking have been contradictory. According to his environmental plan, Biden doesn't want to add new fracking on public lands. He argues that he wants to move away from fracking to get net-zero emissions eventually. The environmental plan calls for an end to fossil fuel subsidies and massive investment in clean energy, including training fossil fuel workers for clean energy jobs. In July 2019, Biden was asked during a CNN debate if there would be a place for fossil fuels, like coal and fracking, in a Biden administration. "We would make sure it's eliminated," he answered. At the town hall, Biden was asked why fracking should continue if it contributes to climate change. He argued that a transition to clean energy was necessary to keep people employed. "Fracking has to continue because we need a transition," he said. "We're going to get to net zero emissions by 2050, and we'll get to net-zero power emissions by 2035. But there is no rationale to eliminate right now fracking, number one. Number two, those jobs that are out there, whether it's an IBEW worker or whether it's an ironworker or the steelworker." Similarly, during an address in August, Biden said, "I am not banning fracking." He said he would not allow new fracking on federal lands. He would allow existing fracking to continue on federal property and existing and new fracking to continue on private land. And that means the majority of fracking would go on undisturbed since most of it takes place on private land. Americans get more coal and oil than natural gas from public lands, reported Washington Post. Biden has not committed to eliminating fracking within the term of his administration, but neither has he announced policy plans that would significantly “grow the industry”, especially given the ‘no new fracking’ commitment. Therefore, Biden's “yes” to the question “would you grow the fracking industry” is contradicting his policy of not allowing new fracking on federal lands. Hence, we mark this claim as misleading.