According to sources close to the Biden-Harris transition team, President-elect Joe Biden is strongly considering Arun Majumdar to lead the Department of Energy (DOE). Majumdar, a protege of President Obama’s Energy Secretary and current fossil fuel advisor Ernest Moniz, currently serves on Biden’s agency review team for the DOE.
In response to Arun Majumdar’s potential nomination as Secretary of Energy, Greenpeace Climate Campaign Director Janet Redman said:
“If selected, Arun Majumdar will have major challenges ahead to prove he is the Secretary of Energy this country needs to navigate through the COVID and climate crises. Both the Department of Energy’s role in COVID-related economic stimulus and Biden’s call for the nation’s electrical grid to be carbon-neutral by 2035 would take shape under Majumdar’s leadership. We will be watching vigilantly to ensure that his extensive ties to the fossil fuel industry and other corporate interests do not get in the way of the necessary transition to a renewable energy economy.
“As the first director of the DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), Majumdar pushed ambitious renewable energy projects, but also continues to support dangerous coal mining and Arctic oil drilling. His deep ties to fossil fuel corporations raise serious concerns about his ability to put workers and families before polluting industries. If nominated, Majumdar would take the reins at DOE at a watershed moment — we call on him to reject the outdated ‘all of the above’ energy strategy that protects oil and gas CEOs and seize this moment to deliver a world beyond fossil fuels.”
ENDS
Contact: Ryan Schleeter, Senior Communications Specialist, Greenpeace USA: +1 (415) 342-2386, [email protected]
