You're watching...
Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Robert Bryce on the impact of regulations on coal and the energy industry as a whole.
Also in this playlist...
Auto-advance: ON
Auto-advance
This transcript is automatically generated
This administration's war on coal is costing you and it's only gonna get worse for more I'm joined by Robert -- senior fellow at the Manhattan institute.
Robert welcome back to show always a pleasure to CEO and right in front of holiday would interview I feel lucky.
Let's talk about -- this war on coal how much is this costing.
With the president's doing his plan they shut down every coal plant in the country practically.
How are we feeling -- in our pocket book.
Well it's not clear yet -- to be perfectly honest with -- -- because.
The low price of natural gas.
The EPA on March 27 said that they want to ban the construction of new coal fired power plants.
And why because they were all able to do so because of the low cost of natural gas.
Four years ago this month natural gas was trading for more than ten dollars per million BT years now it's about two dollars two dollars and fifty -- so.
That lower natural gas prices effectively masking what could be a significant price increase because of the attempt to out.
More cold well good point I I wouldn't go back in time though January 2008 the president talking about.
-- what he would like to see happen to coal fired plants here's the president.
Somebody wants to build -- -- power plant they can.
It's just that it will bankrupt them because they're gonna be charged a huge sum for all that -- greenhouse gas that's being -- Though it there you have the president's promise from way back in 2000 -- that he would like see those coal coal fired plants shut down.
And already -- -- 57 of these plants closed.
Due to these new EPA regulations.
What is likely -- be the impact down the road here Robert because look in reality we started to see some of that.
Development at Nat gas slowdown because the prices are so low for natural gas.
Sure sure.
Well I think it's clear that we are seeing a bunch of that tens of thousands of megawatts of coal fired capacity closing down in the United States.
In part because of the low cost of natural gas but the bigger issue is that this tsunami of regulations that are affecting the coal fired power generation fleet.
We have rules on on coal ash disposal that are pending rules on air quality.
And so if you look at all these rules and you think about how does this fit in into the global picture and I think that's the real mismatch -- in the real story here is that.
The EPA under Obama is -- to outlaw new coal fired power plants and make it very difficult for domestic plants that are now existing to operate at all.
Meanwhile what's happening globally.
Coal consumption has increased 47%.
Over the last decade the last decade coal consumption globally has increased more than -- across I will vanish and oil and that there.
On the planet sure you're talking about like China is using call -- -- others all these you know.
Countries all over the world emitting CO2 doesn't even matter if we stop.
Well that's that's the point I was trying to get to exactly that -- over the last ten years US coal consumption has dropped by 5%.
US CO2 emissions over the last decade is down by about 2%.
Meanwhile global coal consumption is up 47%.
Global CO2 emissions -- -- 8%.
The issue is no longer the United States when it comes to CO2 -- the rest of the world and what's the rest of the world doing their burning as much coal as they can possibly get their hands on.
So is your view that these rules don't even matter to.
And the environment across the planet that'd be concluded today you know -- think -- more important -- is more important.
Well that's clearly -- -- the point that that.
It what what the US does now with regard to cold really doesn't matter at all of the broader issue is how it if it and the end and that's the key issue that EPA is saying.
We have to do something about the domestic coal fired fleet.
Because we wanna do something about climate change well the reality is it will do effectively nothing to -- -- to reduce overall global CO2 emissions and yet.
It will impose significant costs on the US consumer.
But if -- EPA trying to avoid climate change -- they just trying to give a boost spur development of these.
Of these green energy.
Products that they're pushing so hard that are developed rights of friends and family.
Solar channels the battery cars what do you say.
Well.
I think that there's some truth to that possibly that that they wanna make -- electricity more expensive so it if it works in the favor of the renewables.
But the bottom I've been another key point here Jerry is that.
This what we're seeing now with the EPA we're just repeating the bad policy mistakes of the past.
1978 congress outlawed natural gas with a power plant industrial fuel use act.
Now they're saying we want to outlaw coal it was a bad mistake it was a bad policy move then it's a bad policy move now.
Add why -- they outlawed the use of Nat gas back then.
Well.
That's and there's a long story behind it but in 1978.
Congress thought that there was a shortage of natural gas and but it was an artificially created shortage there -- Too much government intervention in the market place.
And that created artificial shortages of gas for congress it will now we we can't use natural gas to produce electricity what was the result.
A spate of new coal fired power plants were built.
That now the Obama administration wants to shut down congress -- I was Smart I think that is.
The irony here is is is enormous and truly painful Jerry.
Well I I I do you wanna talk about the economic impact of call it's it's certainly it's mind the part of the world I'm from my family's been involved in coal mining.
-- money directly employs a 136000.
People each coal -- job creates 3.5 more jobs in the economy.
And really you say we're not -- we have a huge supply 235 years supply of coal you say we're not the Saudi Arabia -- -- OPEC.
So -- to gain when it comes so -- right.
Absolutely if you look at what OPEC we we'd be -- about OPEC right in the oil market.
That the combined total of oil reserves -- OPEC countries is about a trillion barrels of oil.
The US alone has 900 billion barrels of oil equivalent reserves of coal.
Where the OPEC of coal and yet we want to single handedly disarm ourselves.
From using the fuel that we dominate like no other I think it's a -- again a very bad policy move.
All in the name of climate change but it will have no effect discernible effect on on carbon emissions or climate change.
Robert -- just the facts when it comes to energy I love it.
Thanks for help -- have found today have a great holiday weekend whenever your starts thank you.
