Governor John Bel Edwards addressed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee about recent federal offshore oil and gas developments. Specifically, he addressed the adverse impact that a protracted moratorium on mineral leases in the Gulf of Mexico are having on Louisiana’s economy.
Read the Governors address to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee: Click Here
The Governor will be walking a tightrope in a sense as he pleads the case to lift the moratorium on oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico yet still makes his case that Louisiana is working toward of goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
WWL spoke with Political Analyst Ed Chervenak about the Governor’s address and the tight spot he is in trying to call for a release of the moratorium and still placating Democrats committed to the Green New Deal that he with them.
“Being from the same party, if there are any differences, he’ll articulate those differences,’ Chervenak says. “But in the end, he is the Chief Executive of the State of Louisiana, so that’s whose interest he has to look out for.”
Chervenak doesn’t expect fireworks at the address, “My expectation is, they’ll listen to him, but in the end, I’m not sure how much impact the Governor will have on the Democratic Party.
But, Chervenak does expect the Republican members of Louisiana’s senate and congressional delegation to rally to his call for a lifting of the moratorium, “I expect that particularly, Louisiana Republican’s will be on the Governor’s side in protecting the oil industry here.”
“The existing infrastructure is so engrained in the tenets of the state that it would be unlikely to get off oil. But that’s not to say industry changes and new technologies come along.”