By Haris Alic – The Washington Times
President Biden’s plan to make combating climate change a “whole of government agenda” resulted in Americans shelling out more than $1,000 extra in energy costs last year, according to a new report by conservative think tank Heartland Institute.
Mr. Biden’s climate change policies coupled with rising inflation contributed to the highest single-year increase in energy costs in decades, found the analysis by the Heartland Institute.
“Rapidly rising energy prices are no accident, but instead the predictable result of Joe Biden’s war on energy,” said James Taylor, the president of the Heartland Institute.
The report noted that government data from the White House also indicate the spike in energy costs has hit families and businesses alike.
For instance, overall electricity prices jumped 8% last year, while industrial energy prices climbed 15%. The price of gasoline, meanwhile, rose more than one dollar per gallon last year.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The impact of Mr. Biden’s policies impact was most felt on families when it came to the cost of heating their homes. Last year, the price of home heating oil soared 43%, while natural gas prices skyrocketed by 61%.
Electricity, home heating oil and natural gas are the primary energy and heating sources in 93% of the nation’s homes, according to the U.S. Energy Information Association.
“Joe Biden‘s radical energy and climate policies are imposing a massive regressive tax on American households, and especially America’s poorest families,” said Mr. Taylor. “Skyrocketing energy prices show it’s time to end this administration’s war on affordable conventional energy.”
Overall, soaring energy prices cost American taxpayers roughly more than $1,000 in 2021. Higher home heating costs made up most of the jump with households relying on natural gas forced to shell out an extra $300, while those using home heating oil paid more than $1,000.
Cumulatively, taxpayers also paid roughly $70 more for higher electricity costs and an extra $600 because of rising gasoline prices.
Experts say rising costs are closely associated with actions Mr. Biden has taken since entering the White House. Most notably, they point to the president’s decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline, restrict new oil and gas drilling on federal lands as well as new regulations on greenhouse gas emissions.
“The increasing energy costs that we have seen in the past year are just the beginning,” said Myron Ebell, the director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s center for energy and environment. “As the Biden-Harris administration and Democrats in Congress continue to implement their anti-energy policies, energy prices will go up and up and up.”
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