This week, despite Biden’s pledge to prohibit new oil permits on federal land, he greenlighted a massive drilling program on federal land: ConocoPhillips’s Willow project. As the Associated Press reports, the project will tap reserves from “Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope, a major environmental decision … that drew quick condemnation as flying in the face of his pledges to slow climate change.”
But even if he grants it, there are only a fraction that actually pan out. This is just a feint, anyway. Biden may say he is opening up drilling, but of course he really is not.
So while it may look like there’s no rhyme or reason to Biden’s energy policies, there’s a common theme between spiking Keystone and approving the Alaskan drilling project: both align with his political interests. This conclusion is supported by a well-known economic theory.