Joe Biden sees green energy shift as silver lining to tough economy

President Joe Biden suggested Monday that the United States has an opportunity to make a “fundamental turn” toward green energy, even as some experts warn the economy is headed toward a recession.

Shortly after speaking about his skepticism regarding an economic downturn, Biden told reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, that his mother had an expression: “Out of everything bad, something good will happen if you look hard enough.”

“Here we have the opportunity to make a fundamental turn towards renewable energy, electric vehicles, and not only electric vehicles, but in all areas,” said the president.

Biden added that his team will meet with the CEOs of the major oil companies this week to try to “get an explanation of how they justify making $35 billion in the first quarter.”

Even before he was elected in 2020, Biden specified an “equitable clean energy future” as one of his goals as president. His comments in Delaware on Monday indicate that he hasn’t abandoned those plans and even believes he can further his energy goals as he grapples with the economic woes in the US. Last week, White House press secretary Karine Jean -Pierre insisted that the administration could prioritize both its clean energy plan and at the same time reduce rising gas prices.

But for Biden, even a worrisome economic situation is not the same as one doomed to fail. When a reporter said Monday that “economists say a recession is even more likely than ever,” Biden was quick to refute that prediction.

“No, most of them aren’t saying that. Come on, don’t make things up, okay?” he said. He also joked that the reporter sounded “like a Republican politician.”

“But jokes aside, no, I don’t think it’s [more likely than ever]. I was talking to Larry Summers this morning and there is nothing inevitable about a recession,” Biden said, referring to the former US treasury secretary.

Still, some economic experts have offered different assessments. Peter Schiff, chief economist and global strategist at Euro Pacific Capital, said last week that a massive economic “crash” was inevitable.

“Many people have finally [given up] about the idea of ​​a soft landing, and now expect a hard landing,” he tweeted. “But they still don’t get it. The only possible landing is a crash, where everyone on board dies. That’s why the #Fed won’t even try to land and give up their feigned fight against #inflation.”

Cryptocurrency investor Michael Novogratz told MarketWatch in an interview last week that the US economy is “going to collapse.”

“We’re going to go into a recession really quickly, and you can see that in a lot of ways,” he added.

news week contacted the White House for further comment.