Michael Bloomberg said Wednesday night that the United States cannot afford to ban fracking because the country is not ready to use exclusively renewable energy, positioning himself with centrists who fear such a policy could cost Democrats the election.
Bloomberg during his first appearance at a Democratic primary debate offered his most expansive views on fracking, a drilling technique for extracting oil and gas deep underground. He joined other centrists, including Amy Klobuchar, in deeming natural gas a “transition fuel” to be used until wind, solar, and other nonemitting energy sources become more widespread. He aligned himself with moderates who fear that curbing fracking could make it harder for Democrats to win the White House, given that they need to win states heavily dependent on the shale boom to beat President Trump.
“We aren’t going to get rid of fracking for awhile,” Bloomberg said. “We want to go to all renewables. But that’s still many years from now,” he added.
Fracking has helped the U.S. become the world’s largest producer of oil and gas and helped bring down energy costs, but some Democrats, such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, have proposed banning it in order to eliminate fossil fuel use. While gas, which emits half the carbon of coal, has helped displace coal in the electricity sector, it is still a carbon-emitting fossil fuel that also produces methane, a more potent greenhouse gas.
Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, also touted his philanthropic success working with environmental groups to shut down more than half the nation’s coal plants.
As a candidate for president, Bloomberg, despite his opposition to banning fracking, has sought to expand his work against coal to target all fossil fuels.
He’s pledged to stop the construction of new natural gas plants to achieve 80% clean electricity by 2028.
