Ukraine war upends Biden’s agenda on energy, climate change

By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Russian troops move deeper into Ukraine, President Joe Biden is taking steps to rein in rising energy costs – even if those moves run counter to his agenda for addressing climate change. The crisis threatens to derail Biden’s clean-energy strategy in the short term as officials move to blunt higher prices at the gas pump and ensure stability of world oil markets. Biden says he’ll release more oil from the nation’s strategic reserves even as he warns that oil and gas companies “should not exploit this moment” by raising prices. It’s all a far cry from Biden’s pledge to wean Americans’ off oil and other fossil fuels and cut planet-warming carbon emissions in half by 2030.