Attorney General Curtis Hill Wednesday praised recent achievements by the Trump Administration in the areas of energy and the environment. Particularly, he observed that policies pursued by the U.S. Department of Energy under the guidance of Secretary Rick Perry have demonstrated an understanding that robust fossil-fuel energy production and environmental responsibility can go hand and hand.
Earlier this year, Attorney General Hill led multistate amicus briefs opposing lawsuits brought by municipal officials in New York and California cities against fossil-fuel energy producers based on “public nuisance” claims related to climate change. By dismissing the lawsuits, federal courts sided with Attorney General Hill and the other states joining Indiana’s amicus filings.
“The Trump Administration recognizes the same realities that we have proclaimed in these legal cases,” Attorney General Hill said. “Namely, the President understands that states and the federal government can work together to secure environmental benefits for citizens without sacrificing people’s livelihoods.”
Secretary Perry recently has highlighted numerous accomplishments achieved under President Trump, such as:
- The United States is now the world’s leading producer of oil and natural gas.
- This year the United States is on track to produce an average of 10.8 million barrels of crude oil per day, and next year it is expected to produce 11.8 million barrels.
- In July, U.S. crude oil hit a record 11 million barrels per day. That made the United States the second-largest producer, just behind Russia.
- The United States has increased coal exports by an estimated 61% in 2017 over 2016.
- Even as the United States is producing more, it is emitting less. From 2005 to 2017, while the U.S. economy grew, the nation also led the world in reducing carbon emissions, cutting them by 14 percent over that period of time.
“We need not and should not curtail energy production or punish energy companies in order to protect our planet,” Attorney General Hill said. “Even as we exercise wise stewardship of natural resources, we also can foster those uniquely American attributes of free enterprise that support a thriving economy.”
