WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2021) US Senator Joe Manchin said on Monday that the Biden administration's plans to do away with coal as a power source in the United States was excessive and will exact a political cost for the Democratic party.
"If you think that you can stick your head in the sand and say, 'I'm going to eliminate all fossil, all coal-fired plants and shut them down because it'll clean up the environment', then you better start looking at what's happening around the world," Manchin said during a live-streamed discussion at the National Press Club.
Manchin explained that 667 coal-fired plants being are constructed around the world today and none in the United States. Of the 5,280 power plants in the world, 504 are in the United States, but other 4,700 "have no intention of closing down," he said.
President Joe Biden is backing a so-called green energy policy, relying on solar, wind and other renewable sources of energy versus fossil fuels that include coal, oil and natural gas. The Biden administration is pushing to halve US emissions by 2030 under its target for the Paris Climate Agreement and intends to achieve "net-neutrality" on carbons by 2050.
Manchin warned Biden that the "greening of America" could cost the Democrats politically, with lost coal mining jobs in his own state of West Virginia being one of the catalysts for the party's weakening.
"West Virginia feels like the returning Vietnam veteran. We've done every dirty job you've asked us to do, we never questioned ... and now all of a sudden we're told we're not good enough, not clean enough, not green enough or not smart enough," Manchin said. "You cannot leave this community of ours in West Virginia or any producing community behind. You cannot just give up on manufacturing and you can't give up on fossil fuels that can be done in a much cleaner way to provide the energy needed."
