'Nothing Can Stop This Renewable Energy Revolution': Ed Markey Takes Square Aim At Big Oil

7 months ago

At a press briefing on Thursday, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) took aim at big oil for high gas prices and climate change.

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Transcript

00:00 Okay, good, here we go.

00:01 Hello everyone. Welcome to this very important press conference. We're awaiting Senator Schumer.

00:14 He'll be here imminently. And thank you to Climate Power and Laurie Lodes for convening us here

00:24 today and to all the Climate Power activists and to my colleagues and fellow champions in this

00:32 fight, Senator Schumer, Senator Whitehouse, Congressman DeGoose, Congresswoman Kamala

00:40 Dove and Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez. We're going to end big oil and its dirty energy,

00:49 but nothing can stop this where this renewable energy revolution that we are in the midst of

00:56 and this crowd of activists and leaders who have come together to say no more to big oil price

01:04 gouging, collusion and disinformation at the highest levels. We need to do more to move forward

01:13 and faster, including a full fossil fuel phase out to prevent catastrophic warming. But fossil

01:21 fuel companies are willing to burn up our planet to keep us burning their product. We're in the

01:28 middle of a wave of oil and gas industry consolidation with nearly $250 billion worth

01:37 of oil and gas deals in 2023 alone. And these deals are being done with our money. You know

01:47 who's to blame for the cost to fill up your car at the pump or your energy bill at home. Big oil

01:53 and big gas companies who are profiteering throughout our entire economy. In the last

02:00 year alone, 15 big oil companies made $173 billion in profit. At the same time, ExxonMobil

02:10 spent $64 billion to acquire Pioneer and Chevron and spent $53 billion to acquire Hess,

02:20 two of the largest oil and gas deals of the century. But that's not all. Five other major

02:27 mergers are also underway. Instead of big oil, we should be calling them even bigger oil because we

02:36 are literally paying an even bigger price for their dirty practices throughout our economy.

02:44 And that's why I, along with colleagues here today, asked the Federal Trade Commission in

02:49 March to investigate these anti-competitive mergers and to block them, which will,

02:57 which otherwise will enable more obscene profiteering on the backs of American companies.

03:06 This is not unprecedented. So the Federal Trade Commission approved Exxon's merger with Pioneer

03:15 earlier this year, but Scott Sheffield, Pioneer's founder, former CEO, and current board member,

03:22 was exchanging hundreds of messages with OPEC officials discussing oil output and prices,

03:30 engaging in illegal price fixing with foreign leaders to raise prices at the pump for millions

03:37 of Americans. Instead of collusion, they should call it sea oil lusion. It's unethical and

03:48 unacceptable and outrageous to reward an oil executive for this kind of conspiracy with a

03:55 multi-billion dollar merger and a personal oil-soaked 24-carat gold parachute of $68 million.

04:07 These fossil fuel executives are everywhere, walking the halls of Dubai during the

04:13 International Climate Conference to influence international global decisions and impacting

04:18 decisions at every level throughout government as front groups such as the American Gas Association

04:27 and the American Petroleum Association do their job. They're even reportedly discussing pay for

04:34 play with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago as he demands $1 billion from big oil in exchange for the

04:43 destruction of our economy and our planet through runaway fossil fuel profiteering. By comparison,

04:51 President Biden is doing everything he can to ensure that we bring down the cost for American

04:59 drivers. The Federal Trade Commission and now the DOJ must stop the consolidation and collusion

05:07 that inflates our energy, fuel, and gasoline prices. That is what is at the heart of what's

05:15 going wrong in our economy. We need to end our addiction to fossil fuels, break up big oil once

05:22 and for all. These crooks need consequences, not an endless supply of our hard-earned cash.

05:30 Our energy future will be found in the wind and the solar and the offshore wind and electric

05:36 vehicles and renewable energy that is already saving consumers and the planet. We need a green

05:42 new deal with a livable future of climate action and good jobs, good union jobs, and environmental

05:49 justice. It is time we banish these oil-soaked big oil companies into the history books. And now,

05:58 it is my great pleasure to introduce our majority leader and consumer leader in the United States

06:05 Senate from the state of New York, Chuck Schumer. Thank you.

'Nothing Can Stop This Renewable Energy Revolution': Ed Markey Takes Square Aim At Big Oil

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