[Editor’s note: This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire.]
By Joshua Trott
Real Clear Wire
At a time of global disruption, the U.S. has a great responsibility: to move past partisan politics and create a secure energy future for its citizens and the wider world.
From Russia and Ukraine to the Middle East and the Red Sea, each day’s bleak headlines remind us of the fragility of the world order. The whims of foreign governments have the power to sow disruption — not just for those in the region, but across the global village — with increasing frequency.
Our energy ecosystem is vulnerable to these same macro pressures. Add to this the chaos caused by increasingly prevalent extreme weather events, and a picture starts to come into focus of a world where disruption and instability threaten one of the most crucial commodities on earth: energy. Houthi rebels’ siege in the Red Sea. Chaos in the Panama Canal caused by drought. The willingness of OPEC to manage production to maintain favorable oil prices, regardless of the impact this has on member nations’ economies. Russia’s continued targeting of energy infrastructure in Ukraine. The list goes on.
Yet right here in America, we are no better. Our politics of polarization has led to the weaponization of energy policy in favor of quick wins at the polls — and at the expense of not just prosperity at home, but progress in the global energy transition. Look no further than President Biden’s recent pause on LNG terminals, which only prolongs the reliance on coal in the developing world. The U.S. holds natural gas hostage just like Putin does. The only difference is that we do it with politics instead of tanks and missiles.
We’ve Lost Our Way
What happened to America being the leader of the free world? The campaign trail is littered with talk from politicians about restoring the country to its former glory. But their actions on both sides of the aisle suggest a different reality.
The world is falling behind on its climate goals, in part because of the global chaos we are navigating every week. In addition, consider that no society has increased its standards of living, built a self-sustaining economy, or provided access to healthcare and education without access to reliable and affordable energy.
If global poverty and climate health are inarguably the two greatest challenges facing the world, then providing energy stability and true energy leadership is our next great responsibility as a nation. This is what the next 100 years calls for. And only America can deliver that for the world.
What Leadership Looks Like
When we shoulder this great responsibility, everything changes.
- We move the needle on the energy transition by stopping the spread of domestic coal, and providing alternative energy solutions to eventually eliminate coal globally.
- We counterbalance the influence of OPEC by reducing its power to manipulate pricing.
- We remove Russia’s ability to weaponize energy by heating the homes of Europe with responsibly produced natural gas.
- We reduce the world’s longstanding reliance on the Middle East for energy production at a time when the already-volatile region is in the throes of extreme conflict.
- We improve our economy at home with more jobs, lower prices at the pump, and lower electric bills — thus creating more buying power for Americans.
- We overhaul our grids to power the electrification of all things in our lives: from smart devices in our homes to the planes, trains, and automobiles we rely on to get around. This amplification of smart metering and smart devices (intelligent objects, or IoTs) will drive massive improvements in power consumption and generation.
- We reignite R&D to accelerate innovation in energy production and storage to provide the affordable and sustainable solutions the world needs.
It’s easy to dream about this safer, more stable future world. It’s harder to envision how we get there. The answer begins with leadership. In these times of disruption and conflict, the world is desperate for it.
The answer is clear, and it starts with all of us.
The U.S. can and should step in to fill the void, by passing a comprehensive new policy and regulatory framework to minimize the role of politicians and maximize the role of companies who have the resources and know-how to solve this problem for the world. This is why we’ve been shouting from the rooftops for comprehensive energy policy reform. Aside from R&D, none of the changes listed above will happen if we don’t accomplish this goal.
We need leaders who see this future, and we need them to step up. Leaders who are willing to shoulder the responsibility and choose a new path that breaks free from the polarized pandering that dominates the conversation today.
If we are able to do this, the U.S. will become not only a stabilizing force in a volatile world, but a driving force in meeting the greatest existential challenges threatening our planet and its people.
Joshua Trott has spent his career serving the energy industry, including at Workrise where as Chief Revenue Officer (and previously as Head of Oil & Gas) he has helped to grow the company’s industry-leading labor business and shepherd its evolution into a leading supply chain solution for many of the biggest energy companies in the world.
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