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Congressman Gingrich’s strongly supports expanded drilling both onshore and offshore. In 2008, he started a movement for drilling in the US and wrote a book titled “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less.” To aid in energy efficiency, Congressman Gingrich has proposed a series of prizes to be awarded to individuals or companies that develop new energy efficient automobiles and other items. He supports the removal of bureaucratic and legal obstacles to responsible oil and natural gas development in the United States, offshore and on land. He also supports ending the ban on oil shale development in the American West. He has stated that to incentivize safe oil production, the federal government should create a federal royalty revenue sharing to give coastal states an incentive to allow offshore development.

In addition to immediate drilling, Congressman Gingrich supports a rapid expansion of nuclear energy, hydrogen energy, wind, and solar energy. He also supports tax incentives to retrofit coal energy facilities for new carbon sequestering technologies. He has stated that he supports the goal of obtaining 25% of US energy from renewable sources by 2025.

Although his views on energy are definitive, Congressman Gingrich’s views on the environment and it’s relation to energy are not. Congressman Gingrich testified in hearings (not as a Congressman) against the Waxman-Markley cap-and-trade program, and has asserted his strong opposition to the program numerous times. However, Congressman Gingrich has also advocated for programs that incentivize the reduction of carbon emission.

Congressman Gingrich’s views on global warming are also nebulous. In a 2007 debate with Senator Kerry, Congressman Gingrich stated that the evidence was sufficient that global warming existed and that action needed to be taken immediately. The obvious implication being that if action can address the issue, then it was man made. That same year, he introduced a “Contract with the Earth” and spoke about the concept of “Green Conservatism” as a method of winning the environmental debate against the left. In 2008, Congressman Gingrich made a public service announcement with House Speaker Pelosi noting the dangers of global warming and the need to take action to solve the problem. However, at a conference that same year, he stated that as a historian, it was impossible to known the extent of global warming and how much humans were contributing.

Congressman Gingrich has opposed EPA regulation of carbon emissions and has called for the EPA to be abolished.

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