President Joe Biden again vowed Wednesday not to ban fracking while delivering remarks ahead of the signing ceremony for a number of climate change-focused executive orders.
Biden’s climate policies, he claimed, aren’t “pie in the sky dreams” but “concrete actionable solutions” that can produce millions of jobs in alternative energy sectors.
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 26: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about the coronavirus pandemic in the State Dining Room of the White House on January 26, 2021 in Washington, DC. President Biden said his administration has secured commitments from vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna to purchase another 200 million doses that will arrive this summer. (Photo by Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images)
“When I think of climate change, I think of jobs. A key plank of our build back recovery plan is building a modern, resilient infrastructure and clean energy future that will create millions of good paying union jobs,” he said near the top of his remarks. “We can put millions of Americans to work modernizing our water systems, transportation, our energy infrastructure, to withstand the impacts of extreme climate. We’ve already reached the point where we’re going to have to live where it is now. That’s going to require a lot of work all by itself without it getting any worse.”
“Let me be clear, and I know this always comes up,” Biden continued. “We’re not going to ban fracking. We’ll protect jobs and grow jobs.” (RELATED: Biden Refocusing National Security Around Climate Change — Here’s What His Latest Executive Orders Actually Do)
The president estimated that replacing the full federal fleet with electric vehicles, one of his core climate proposals, would create more than one million jobs in the auto industry alone.
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You can watch his entire speech below.
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