HOUSTON — Energy Secretary Rick Perry said Wednesday that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., should not rebuked for pushing the Green New Deal.
Perry told reporters at the CERAWeek by IHS Markit energy industry conference in Houston that he’d be open to meeting with Ocasio-Cortez to discuss ways to reduce emissions.
“I don’t think the representative should be castigated or pushed aside just on the face of her comments relative that she wants to live in place with clean air and water,” Perry said. “So do I.”
He later suggested a blanket rejection of the Green New Deal would be counterproductive to the goal of addressing climate change, which he shares.
“I would rather be agreeable,” Perry said. “Life is too short to be pissed off all the time.”
Perry added he would look to convince Ocasio-Cortez of the value of America’s shift to more natural gas use and its burgeoning position as a leading exporter of liquefied natural gas, which he said has the potential to reduce emissions in countries such as China and India that still rely strongly on coal.
“One of things I hope can be successful with helping her understand is what we have done in this country over the last decade,” Perry said. “How LNG is helping drive down emissions. Wouldn’t it be good to get American LNG in countries like China and India to bring down their emissions?”
Before addressing reporters, Perry delivered a speech to the energy industry conference, in which he called for a “realistic” approach to combating climate change, with fossil fuels still projected to be used beyond 2030 — the timeline the Green New Deal lays out to eliminate coal, oil, and natural gas.
He said the U.S. is entering a “new American energy era” and should be “inclusive” with the energy sources it uses and exports, including renewables, advanced nuclear technologies, and carbon capture and storage for fossil fuel plants.
“Having a conversation about the Green New Deal is a good thing, and to do it in a thoughtful, polite respectful way,” he said.
“If we are going to be serious about the climate we have to be realistic. It’s the transition to LNG, it’s using our nuclear, it’s using our renewables in a combined way,” he said. “I am proud of what America has done over the last decade when it comes to reducing emissions.”
But progressives such as Ocasio-Cortez and experts, including the United Nations climate change panel, say the market-driven transition away from coal to natural gas and renewables is not sufficient to avoid the worst consequences of global warming and are urging for more comprehensive policies.
