Some Democrats Want to Ban Fracking, but Business Group Study Says that Would “Devastate” Economy
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce pushed back Thursday against calls from some Democratic presidential candidates to ban fracking, saying that policy would “devastate” the economies of states like Pennsylvania.
The report is the latest entry in a debate about the costs and benefits of natural gas, and the business group’s Global Energy Institute predicted the nation would lose 19 million jobs, both within and outside the oil and gas industry, between 2021 to 2025.
During the same period, the study found, prohibiting the controversial natural gas drilling technique would reduce U.S. gross domestic product by $7.1 trillion and cause natural gas prices to more than quadruple.
“The effects of a ban on hydraulic fracturing would be so sweeping and widespread across the U.S. economy that no industry or region of the economy would not feel its impact,” Global Energy Institute president Marty Durbin told reporters on a call Thursday.
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