Energy Independence
By Howard Salter
The Politico
February 1, 2007

President Bush's policy goals for the new year included energy independence. Policymakers on both sides of the aisle may differ as to how to achieve this goal, but few have challenged the idea itself. The last thing I would want is to undermine the emerging consensus that urgent action is needed to change our national energy policy. However, before we embrace energy independence as a national goal, we should ask policymakers to think hard about what exactly they are declaring independence from, and why?

To many, energy independence means setting America free from foreign sources of energy, particularly foreign oil. Consumption of fossil fuels produces the greenhouse gases that cause global warming, rapidly changing the earth’s climate with devastating consequences. Reducing U.S. consumption of imported oil will do little to solve these wide-ranging problems.

If the United States resolved its fossil fuel dependence tomorrow, it would still suffer as a result of the world’s continued dependence. Oil is traded on a global market, and its price is set by that market, regardless of its origin. If the U.S. stopped importing oil tomorrow, our economy would remain vulnerable to fluctuations in that increasingly volatile market. At the same time, reducing U.S. oil imports would yield only minimal benefits in the foreign policy arena as long as other countries remain fossil fuel dependent. Shrinking U.S. demand for oil would be rapidly offset by spiraling demand in India and China, leaving global warming and the flow of petrodollars unaffected.

In an interconnected world, it is not enough for the U.S. to address its own fossil fuel addiction. We must also work with other nations, particularly developing economies such as India and China, to stem their burgeoning fossil fuel habits. In an energy interdependent world, the United States must engage internationally to develop shared solutions to common energy challenges. Otherwise the U.S. economy will remain vulnerable to the volatility of a tightening global oil market, while other nations’ fossil fuel dependence will continue to undermine the effectiveness of U.S. foreign policy. Increased competition over scarce oil resources will trigger worsening conflicts, both within and between states, and climate change will continue unabated.

Crafting effective energy policy will require reaching, not only across the aisle, but across borders. As the world’s largest consumer of energy, the U.S. has both a unique power and a unique responsibility to shape the world’s energy future. Over the past 30 years, the U.S. has remained on the sidelines of debates over climate and energy issues. It would be disastrous for the U.S. to react to the current energy crisis with policies of energy isolationism, instead of reaching out to international partners to achieve global energy independence.

Howard Salter is director of communications at Citizens for Global Solutions, a Washington, D.C. based foreign policy advocacy organization.
 

Howard Salter
Director of Communications
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