Executives note that natural gas is rapidly replacing coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel. Gas also complements renewables by providing power when the sun does not shine and the wind is still. Some energy executives have even endorsed levying a tax on the emissions that are causing climate change, arguing that it would create incentives for carbon capture and storage, which would reduce emissions.
In Thursday's debate, Mr Biden said he would seek to replace fossil fuels with renewables"over time", noting that the oil industry"pollutes significantly". But he had previously said he was against ending hydraulic fracturing of shale fields, a common practice in Pennsylvania, Texas and Ohio. And some oil and gas executives said they liked parts of an energy plan that Mr Biden put out this summer.
But Mr Sommers also noted that Mr Biden had expressed enough ambiguity that a rapid change in oil and gas shale fields was not likely. Now electric cars are becoming increasingly popular, and the costs of wind and solar power are dropping rapidly. Coal, which was the dominant power fuel at the beginning of the century, is in deep decline, losing out to natural gas and renewables.
After watching the debate, Mike Belding, chairman of the Greene County Commission in western Pennsylvania, said he was concerned about the economic consequences of a Biden presidency.