Eco-Extremism: Energy Security Threats Post-Election

The 2024 election sent a clear message to our elected officials that U.S. energy consumers value affordable and reliable energy over the left-wing policies that stymie economic growth and energy independence. But beyond the immediate benefits of having a pro-energy candidate in the Oval Office, the margin of Republican control in the legislative branch, albeit narrow, will allow Trump’s energy team to pursue pro-energy policies and roll back egregious overregulation from the Biden-Harris Administration. 

Unfortunately, policies that focus on ensuring affordable and reliable energy introduced by the incoming Administration may elicit destructive protests from environmental radicals. Over the past decade, green resistance groups have estranged themselves from the conservationist movement by adopting increasingly destructive forms of resistance against energy projects and policies. As American Energy Alliance President Tom Pyle noted in a recent op-ed, “activists and their funders have become emboldened to disrupt our lives and the energy sources that power them.” 

We’re already getting glimpses of some of this intensified antagonism. According to E&E News, the environmentalist group Climate Defiance is planning to protest at the Department of Energy’s Washington headquarters in December, where, according to their founder Michael Greenberg, the group will “blockade the DOE to call on Biden to reject all fracked gas export facilities in the permitting process.” 

The group’s members, several of which have been arrested during past protests, will embark on what Greenberg is calling “a week of action” to pressure Biden to adopt their extremist policy. 

Similar tactics were used by Greenpeace protestors outside the home of Canadian Conservative Party’s leader Pierre Poilievre this past week. Two arrests were made after protestors chained themselves to props in retaliation to Poilievre’s plan to bolster the country’s oil and gas sector. Rather than condemning the unlawful protests, Greenpeace instead lauded the protestor’s actions calling them a “powerful message.”

While we all agree that freedom of speech is an essential element of political discourse, we should all recognize that green groups are frequently blurring the lines of free expression and often pursuing tactics designed to disrupt and intimidate those that are not aligned with their agenda.  While we do not yet know the scope in which these eco-bullies will disrupt our lives in the months and years ahead – one thing is for certain: the energy sector should not stand idly by. Our elected officials have a responsibility to enact common-sense energy policies that place the American people ahead of political radicals and special interests. They should not allow a small, well-funded group of ideologues to prevent them from making the policy changes the American people voted for.