From The Nation: It’s Time to Repeal Fossil Fuel Subsidies, Say Progressives

Progressives in and out of Congress are leading a push to eliminate all subsidies for the fossil fuel industry, making a repeal of these multibillion-dollar giveaways a red line in the upcoming budget reconciliation package, the larger spending bill aimed at implementing most of President Joe Biden’s agenda. Environmentalists and left-leaning congressional Democrats are especially motivated to take on the oil and gas industries after a covertly recorded video, made in a Greenpeace sting this May, caught ExxonMobil lobbyists boasting about their efforts to sabotage climate initiatives in Washington.

Top Exxon lobbyist Keith McCoy bragged about having weekly access to West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin’s staff, named 10 other senators who have been “crucial” to watering down Biden’s infrastructure package, and made remarkably candid comments about how capitalism and Exxon’s profit-seeking caused a global calamity. The other lobbyist in the undercover video, Dan Easley, also touted the oil giant’s relationship with the Trump administration, describing how they worked together to protect profits, specifically pointing to their “preferential tax treatment,” or subsidies.

Let me begin by saying: If this doesn’t make you angry, I don’t know what to tell you.

To the matter at hand, so-called “progressives” have been calling for the removal of fossil fuel subsidies for decades. Yet a full 60% of Americans favor policies that reduce use of fossil fuels. Only 26% of Americans describe themselves as progressives. There is a huge contingent of moderates who are on board with this, and it’s growing every year.