EPA chief denies Biden admin discouraging investment in U.S. energy production

Environment Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan Thursday denied that the Biden administration is discouraging investment in U.S. oil and gas development, as energy industry representatives and Republicans politicians say it's doing just that.

"I think that 90% of the natural gas extraction in this country is done on non-federal lands, and that continues to move forward," Regan said when asked about those accusations. "It's indicative of our methane proposal that we're taking a look and we're talking with industry. And there are tons of technologies available that would allow this industry to continue to help transition this country while getting significant reductions from methane and other hazardous air pollutants." 

Regan made the comments during press briefing at CERAWeek by S&P Global energy conference. He said that private industry is behind green energy, noting that the vast majority of new U.S. energy generation capacity coming online "is renewable – wind, solar and battery." 

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"I think this president is very smartly focused on a transition that is just and equitable but also that is cognizant of the state of play in the world," Regan added. "We all want affordable, reliable energy and electricity. And I think the smart regulatory approaches that really capture where the private sector has been going for the last decade is the right way to go." 

Energy industry insiders at the CERAWeek conference in Houston, however, said part of the reason why new oil and natural gas production is difficult is because of tone coming from Biden officials. 

"The exploration and production sector has been hard hit," Port of Corpus Christi CEO Sean Strawbridge told FOX Business. He said Biden's "climate agenda... really took aim at the oil and gas sector," causing, "the subsequent flight of capital from the sector, which has made it more difficult for reinvestment in exploration and production."

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Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, also said specific Biden officials are discouraging investors from putting capital into domestic energy projects. 

"You have people like [Special Presidential Envoy for Climate] John Kerry and [National Climate Advisor] Gina McCarthy going around in the American financial community saying, 'Don't invest in American energy,'" he said. 

New York University professor Steven Koonin, who wrote a 2021 book challenging the idea that climate change will cause catastrophic consequences, said he welcomed a message from Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm for energy companies to start "producing more right now." But, he told FOX Business, "I think she needs to be talking to her colleagues in Treasury, the SEC and so on to make sure that in fact, they stop discouraging investments."

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"There's a lack of investment," Energy Workforce and Technology Council CEO Leslie Beyer said. "We need capital to be able to develop these assets. And certainly while that is the choice of the investors, the rhetoric coming from the administration and everything that's anti-fossil fuel informs those choices."