Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed on Thursday to fight President Joe Biden’s climate agenda in order to save the oil and gas industry.
Abbott said he intends to sue the Biden administration over his environmental policies, which is exactly what he did during the Obama administration as Texas’s attorney general. In total, Abbott sued the Obama administration 31 times.
“One thing that we are going to be doing is exactly what I did when I was attorney general in Texas and Barack Obama was the president of the United States, when President Obama was lodging challenge after challenge after challenge to the Texas energy sector,” Abbott said during a roundtable meeting this week, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
“Texas will continue with that litigation strategy to fight back against any efforts by the Biden administration that threaten either the energy sector in general or jobs in the energy sector — in particular in the state of Texas.”
Biden signed several executive orders last week and this week to address “climate change.” The orders include rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, conserving 30% of public lands and waters by 2030, aiming to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, pausing new oil and gas leases on public lands, and ending federal subsidies for fossil fuels.
“We’re here for a singular purpose today. To make clear that Texas is going to protect the oil and gas industry from any type of hostile attack launched from Washington, D.C,” Abbott added.
Abbot also signed an executive order on Thursday calling on “every state agency to use all lawful powers and tools to challenge any federal action that threatens the strength, vitality, or independence of the energy industry in Texas.”
“This is a homework assignment for every state agency in Texas,” he said.
Texas has already filed one lawsuit against the Biden administration over Biden’s executive order establishing a 100-day halt to most deportations. A federal judge upheld Texas’s lawsuit this week and temporarily blocked enforcement of Biden’s order.
