NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Democrat Joe Biden says his pledge to gradually move the country away from fossil fuels to combat climate change doesn't mean he will impose bans that could effectively shut down the oil and gas industry.
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President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign has seized on Biden’s comments in the closing moments of Thursday night's debate in Nashville. That’s when the former vice president said, “We need other industries to transition to get to ultimately a complete zero emissions by 2025.”
Trump’s campaign said that meant Biden was backing banning fossil fuels.
Boarding his plane to fly back to his home in Delaware, Biden responded, “Eventually we’re going to have to go to all. But we’re not going to ban fossil fuels.”
“We’ll get rid of the subsidies of fossil fuels, but we’re not getting rid of fossil fuels for a very long time,” he said.
In a call with reporters Thursday night, deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield clarified that Biden was talking about eliminating oil subsidies when he said he would “transition away from the oil industry."
