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Gov. Abbott pushes back against Biden’s executive order
Gov. Abbott issued an executive order to protect Texas' energy industry from federal overreach following President Biden's climate change-related executive orders.
HOUSTON - President Joe Biden is taking aggressive action to tackle climate change, signing several executive orders this week. His directives include canceling the Keystone-XL pipeline and hitting pause on new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters.
The halt would not affect existing leases on drilling.
Experts say those changes will trickle down to affect jobs and the livelihoods of thousands of Texans.
"The first order I'm signing is tackling the climate crisis at home and abroad," said Biden.
President Joe Biden’s signature on another set of executive orders in his first week of office, marks sweeping changes for the energy industry in Houston.
HOW WILL TEXAS JOBS BE AFFECTED?
Biden’s latest directive to pause new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters, for the sake of climate change, has outraged Texas Republicans like Governor Greg Abbott.
Abbott is now pushing back against the White House.
"Texas is not going to stand idly by and watch the Biden administration kill jobs in Midland, in Odessa or any other place across the entire region," Abbott said.
Abbott signed his own executive order Thursday, directing state agencies to fight to protect the energy industry.
DETAILS: Abbott signs executive order to protect energy industry from federal overreach
"It’s going to turn the job market upside down on its head," said Art Gelber, the President of Gelber and Associates, an energy consulting firm in Houston.
"It’s symbolically very significant because he’s signaling to the market that things that are more traditional oil and gas are going to take more time and be more difficult and probably less profitable," Gelber said.
Gelber worries Biden's directives could destroy the livelihoods of thousands of Texans particularly in Houston, the energy capital of the world.
In response to White House Climate Czar John Kerry's comments that those working in the fossil fuel industry, could find new jobs in solar energy, Gelber said the comments felt like whiplash.
"I feel like that’s very flippant. We’re all vested, I’m vested. We’re all vested in this. We’re here to do this and we’re highly trained at doing this. And to have it arbitrarily ripped away in exchange for some future that maybe is uncertain or maybe not necessary, is a huge step and in some regards, maybe just unfair," said Gelber.
MORE: Biden signs sweeping climate orders targeting US oil, gas and coal emissions
However, Gelber remains optimistic that Houstonians will find a way to adapt to the transition to alternative and renewable energy productions.
"I think we will thrive in this new environment because we’re smart here, we’re educated here, we’re hardworking here and we certainly know how to make energy tick. This is the place it happens here, that’s not going to change," Gelber said.
Biden also promised his order will create new clean energy jobs.
"We are going to put people to work. They are not going to lose jobs with this it is going to create jobs. They are going to get prevailing wage to cap those over one million wells," Biden said.
THE IMPACT ON HURRICANES
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Is stopping hurricanes possible?
One of the biggest headlines from the president's climate plan came from the man in charge of it, who implied it could stop hurricanes. But is that even possible?
During a news briefing, White House Climate Czar John Kerry emphasized the urgency of Biden’s orders.
"What President Biden is trying to do is listen to science. Listen to facts and make tough decisions about what we need to do to make the world a better place," Kerry said.
Kerry argues the directives could slow the increase in monstrous category 4 and 5 hurricanes.
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"It is now cheaper to deal with the crisis of climate than it is to ignore it. We spent $265-billion years ago on three storms -- Irma, Harvey, and Maria. Maria destroyed Puerto Rico. Harvey dropped more water on Houston in five days than goes on in Niagra Falls in a year," Kerry said.
The briefing came as Houston City Council member Abbie Kamin lead a virtual panel discussing the risks of storm surge from Galveston Bay and the Ship Channel.
"We dodged a bullet but again. I keep saying we’re on borrowed time and it’s not a matter of if but when," Kamin said.
Jim Blackburn is a civil and environmental engineering professor and co-director of SSPEED, Severe Storm Prediction, Education & Evacuation from Disaster Center at Rice University.
"If we can begin to control climate change, we will basically be stopping an increase in the size of storms in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s that simple," Blackburn said.
RELATED: Paris Climate Agreement: What it is, how it started and what happens now that the US has rejoined
Blackburn said while taking swift action to address climate change by reducing carbon emissions won’t stop hurricanes from happening altogether, it could lessen the likelihood of powerful storms.
"I mean if the water is hotter, it evaporates more. Hot water is the fuel for hurricanes. A hot atmosphere holds more water, so we’ll have more rain. We’ll have bigger storms with more fuel out there to make them stronger," Blackburn said.
But in Houston, the energy capital of the world, widespread concern over the loss of thousands of jobs isn’t lost on Blackburn.
"For one thing, we’re also going to be one of the hardest hit by climate change. So we’re sorta damned if we do, damned if we don’t. but I think the industry is beginning to understand that they’re going to have to change. Change does not necessarily mean that they are destroyed," Blackburn said.
Blackburn adds that the rising concern is if nothing is done, another catastrophic hurricane could do irreparable damage to the energy sector in the area.
MORE: Biden signs executive orders on COVID-19, immigration, rejoining Paris climate accord and WHO