White House climate czar John Kerry on Wednesday recommended that oil and gas workers should pivot to manufacturing solar panels if their jobs are eliminated as a consequence of the Biden administration’s environmental policies.
During a press briefing at the White House on Wednesday, Kerry, who is serving as the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, was asked what his message is to workers who are “seeing an end to their livelihoods” as a result of President Biden’s plan to move away from traditional fuels and towards renewable energy.
“The president of the United States has expressed in every comment he has made about climate the need to grow the new jobs that pay better, that are cleaner,” Kerry responded, emphasizing that Biden intends to “do what needs to be done to deal with this crisis.”
“What President Biden wants to do is make sure those folks have better choices, that they have alternatives, that they can be the people to go to work to make the solar panels,” Kerry said.
Kerry noted that jobs in clean energy, such solar power technician and wind turbine technician, were growing rapidly before the pandemic hit.
“The same people can do those jobs,” the former secretary of state said, adding that, “coal plants have been closing over the last 20 years.”
Kerry also lamented that workers in traditional fuel industries have been a “false narrative.”
“They’ve been fed the notion that somehow dealing with climate is coming at their expense. No, it’s not,” he said, adding that the tribulations of oil and gas workers are due to “other market forces already taking place.”
Biden signed several executive orders on climate change on Wednesday aimed at achieving the goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. Last week, the president reentered the Paris climate accord, from which the Trump administration withdrew the U.S. in 2017. Biden also canceled the permit on the Keystone pipeline, a project that would have created about 11,000 U.S. jobs this year, according to the Keystone XL website. Many of the workers are temporary, but 8,000 are union workers.
“Today is climate day at the White House, which means today is jobs day at the White House,” Biden said at a White House ceremony. “In my view, we’ve already waited too long to deal with this climate crisis and we can’t wait any longer. It is time to act.”
Also on Wednesday, former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm testified at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and promised to focus on creating U.S. jobs in clean energy while moving away from fossil fuels.
She cited her time as Michigan governor, saying that “when we focused on providing incentives for job providers to locate in Michigan in clean energy, they came.”
However, she added, “I think it is important that as we develop fossil fuels that we also develop the technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
Kerry sold the United States down the river with the Iran Deal and was too busy showing off in Tehran with a bicycle. Yes, some of us do remember stupidity. Also, Obama’s solar panel ventures ended in dismal failure. Remember, Kerry? Get your head out of your methane factory.
Sort of sounds like a famous quote by another Elite…’LET THEM EAT CAKE’, & we know how that ended. Kerry is totally out of touch with the American Working Class. He is a privileged multi-millionaire. Considering what I’ve heard about his tales of Vietnam I cannot believe people would elect him to any office.
A solar panel does need to be replaced after 10 years of use, and it is a serious problem to destroy
Kerry’s statements would be laughable, if the fallout from Biden’s executive order and coming new restrictions / regulations on the fossil fuel industry as a whole weren’t so dire for the American economy and the millions of highly paid workers who make a living from it. Not to mention the communities and states that will lose tax revenues and jobs, when businesses that serve those workers either have to scale back or go out of business.
Kerry’s suggestion that displaced workers transition to making solar panels just under-scores the lack of serious knowledge (physics, economics, engineering) and concern anyone in the Biden administration has for American lives up-ended by advancing the policies of the left.
China has long dominated the solar panel manufacturing market on a global basis going all the way back to the G.W. Bush era. There is a reason why China has 90 percent of the consumer / commercial grade market for solar panels. Unless American workers are willing to work 16 hour days 7 days a week for one to two dollars an hour under conditions OSHA would flag as completely unsafe, there is no way to under-cut the Chinese in this space. Attempts to compete in the solar panel manufacturing space during the Obama era were all complete failures, costing the American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. No one in the Obama administration had a firm grasp of economic then and certainly no one in the Biden administration, which is largely populated by recycled Obama personnel, has learned anything since then.
Kerry is essentially just recycling the same failed prescription for transitioning high paying jobs from an industry (fossil fuels) that supplies over 80 percent of our energy needs to one (solar and wind) which only supplies 4 to 5 percent of our needs and can never supply the baseload energy requirements an economy of our side needs to remain the standard of living we have today. When the sun doesn’t shine, solar panels produce 0 electricity. When the wind doesn’t blow, windmills produce 0 electricity. The battery technology or other means to store the gigawatts of power needed to keep everything powered up during those times doesn’t exist to power whole cities and states.
I think Kerry and the White House clan should go to work manufacturing solar panels and leave us alone.
Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm testified at her confirmation hearing: “when we focused on providing incentives for job providers to locate in Michigan in clean energy, they came.”
Just for kicks, I searched for information on solar jobs in MI and found that a sales job offered at $164,000/yr. remains unfilled after 28 days of having been listed. Several other positions, for renewable sales, technicians, and inspections, are still open.
What do you want to bet that huge state and federal rebates soon will be given to anyone who covers their roof in panels? Otherwise, it‘s quite expensive. Don’t get me wrong–I’m all for people choosing what’s right for them. But is it right to expect fellow taxpayers to foot the bill so you can lower your utility bills? And will China ultimately benefit the most from this scheme?
John Kerry–ugh! I wonder what kind of a castle he lives in. And does it have solar panels??
White House climate czar John Kerry? We now have a climate czar who is nothing but a simpleton living a dissolution life.
God makes the climate changes through the four seasons, he makes the cold, heat, snow, and rain. He has been doing that since the beginning.
So what does this idiot Kerry do?
John Kerry was and is a disgrace to The American political System.
He’s a moron! He should not hold public office of any kind.
John Kerry is way off base on this. The majority of the pipeline workers are highly trained people , that can do the job to continue the work started by the “Greatest Generation”. These people are proud of the work they do & should be appreciated instead of telling them to just make solar panels > Kerry is going to prove to be a problem for the unemployed to go back to work.
After reading this a second, time I am very disappointed the John Kerry does not recognize this breed of hard workers that helped USA to be become oil independent. For those that remember the Iran oil embargo in 1973-74 and damaged inflicted to USA appreciate what these workers have done. Read my lips Mr. Kerry “Energy & environment can work together in productive harmony” is you utilize the skills and expertise of the American people (who want to work & not live on handouts). Suggest all go back & review the history of early 70’s and also the 55-mph speed limits………