Lobbyist Spotlight: Ernest Moniz
Everything you need to know about this former energy secretary and his allegiance to the fossil fuel industry.
Blog Post By Emma Marotta, November 30, 2020
No one has ever heard of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The majority of the terms and organizations involved in the necessary fight against climate change are foreign to the average person, especially if they don’t see the direct impact the climate has on their lives. One aspect of demystifying the climate crisis is understanding the roles of specific people who have the means and authority to catalyze solutions.
Ernest Moniz at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, on May 1, 2017. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
Ernest Moniz, the former Energy Secretary under the Obama administration, now acts as a key advisor to President-Elect Joe Biden. Moniz abides by an “all of the above” philosophy pertaining to climate solutions. He encourages investment in renewable energy, but staunchly advocates for the growth of the oil and gas industry under the guise of supporting energy production of all types. As an embodiment of these opinions, Moniz collaborated on crafting the Green Real Deal, an alternative to the Green New Deal that would have catastrophic consequences because it 1) does not specify any targets for future carbon cuts, 2) removes regulations on production and 3) advocates for fracking. (an oil extraction process linked to methane emissions, which are 84 times as potent as CO2.) Thanks to the rapid scale up of new drilling technologies - first and foremost fracking - the US is projected to produce 61% of all new oil and gas in the next decade, causing American fracking to have global consequences.
Whether or not Moniz prioritizes a sustainable future is ambiguous, but his financial decisions provide more clarity. Moniz invested $1,000,000 in mutual funds through Fidelity Bank, which has the 6th largest contribution to fossil fuels among asset management groups, totaling $2.3 trillion. His allegiance to fossil fuel has been unwavering and spawns from the immense profit he continues to collect from fossil fuel companies. Working under the title of “Consultant,” Moniz has received nearly half a million dollars from Southern Energy Company. Meanwhile, The MIT Energy Initiative, founded by Moniz in 2006, publicly aims to “Develop low- and no-carbon solutions to efficiently, affordably, and sustainably meet global energy needs.”Yet funding from oil and gas monoliths including ExxonMobil and Chevron, which provided $5,000,000, means they also have a dominating influence on the program.
As the architect of the path out of Trump administration climate obstruction, President-Elect Biden’s delegations of power are critical. He has now appointed Rep. Cedric Richmond to lead the White House Office of Public Engagement. In this role, Richmond is meant to promulgate the new administration’s climate legislation, but his freedom to make science-based decisions will be limited. Donating $112,600 in the last year, the oil and gas industry has routinely acted as a top contributor to Richmond’s campaign throughout his career.
This September, over 70 activist and donor groups urged Biden to purge fossil fuel executives and lobbyists from his potential administration. As one of Biden’s trusted policy consultants, Ernest Moniz has the authority to either help mitigate impacts of climate change or perpetuate them. Prioritizing excessive profit over our health and safety is an option for him, but it is not an option for the American people.