home > by publication type > daily analysis > The Energy Policy Conundrum
Email
| Prepared by: |
|---|
'Rogues' on a rig. (AP/Miraflores Press Office/Danii Galli)
Prices at U.S. gasoline pumps continue to fall (SFChron) but many experts worry this is only forestalling the hard policy choices necessary to end the country’s dependence on foreign oil. A new CFR Task Force report, released Thursday, warns that Washington’s lack of proper focus on energy issues is undermining U.S. foreign policy and national security. Under current trends, it notes, oil-rich countries such as Iran, Venezuela, and Russia are gaining enormous new leverage.
The bipartisan CFR Task Force, composed of a diverse group of top U.S. policy experts, outlines a multipronged strategy that acknowledges the continued U.S. dependence on oil for at least a couple of decades but seeks to position the country to transition to a less oil-dependent economy. It urges expanded domestic oil exploration, whether in Alaska or in coastal waters; greatly increased federal investment in more efficient or alternative fuel technologies; and U.S. leadership in bringing China and India into international bodies that help to manage disruptions in supply. Task force cochair John Deutch tells CFR.org the panel also agreed it was important to rein in consumption of petroleum in the United States “because it will induce conservation, it will induce new technology, it will lead to a search for alternatives.” Among the measures proposed to achieve this include a gasoline tax, new fuel economy standards, or a system of tradable gasoline permits that would cap gas consumption.
The notion of a gas tax has actually gained support from a number of Republican economists. Notable among them is N. Gregory Mankiw, former chairman of President Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers, who promotes the idea of taxes on fossil fuels on his blog. But CFR Adjunct Senior Fellow David G. Victor, who was the task force’s project director, has written separately of concern about the political difficulties involved in translating such ideas into law (FT).
Bold action on energy issues only appears to surface during extreme events such as Hurricane Katrina, which devastated an oil-refining region, or the BP pipeline mishap in Alaska, which partially shut down the nation’s largest oil field. Foreign Policy Online looks at some of the world’s biggest oil fields and the vulnerabilities that could take them off-line. Independent of federal government efforts, however, the private sector and local governments are beginning to introduce changes aimed at spurring energy alternatives and conservation. For example, at least twenty-two U.S. states now support initiatives for renewable energy, says the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. And a number of U.S. companies are even calling for more stringent federal regulation on carbon emissions.
There is especially strong corporate interest at the moment in prospects for corn-derived ethanol as a gasoline alternative. Many see the hiring of former Chevron executive Patricia Woertz as chief executive of agricultural giant Archer Daniels Midlands as proof of growing confluence of energy and agriculture (IHT). Reinforcing that convergence this week were U.S. Agriculture Secretary Michael Johanns and Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, who announced their agencies would combine to spend $17.5 million on seventeen biomass research, development, and demonstration projects to help the country break its addiction to oil (Resource Investor). The new CFR Task Force sees in ethanol a potential candidate for replacing traditional fuels, but it urges the costs and benefits of such an option be carefully weighed. A recent evaluation by Consumer Reports magazine challenges claims that vehicles running mostly on ethanol are truly fuel efficient.
Weigh in on this issue by emailing CFR.org.
Explore international efforts to curb nuclear proliferation with a new interactive from CFR's program on International Institutions and Global Governance.
To order Task Force reports, Council Special Reports, and Critical Policy Choices, please call, fax, or order online from our distributor, the Brookings Institution Press: phone +1.800.537.5487, fax +1.410.516.6998.
For information on other reports that are not for sale, or for general publications information, please call +1.212.434.9516 or email publications@cfr.org.
In War of Necessity, War of Choice, Richard N. Haass contrasts the decisions that shaped the conduct of two wars between the United States and Iraq involving the two presidents Bush and Saddam Hussein, and writes an authoritative, personal account of how U.S. foreign policy is made, what it should seek, and how it should be pursued.
In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia E. Sweig presents a remarkably accessible portrait of Cuba’s unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years, including its internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community.
As Ray Takeyh shows in Guardians of the Revolution, behind the famous personalities and extremist slogans of Iran is a nation that is far more pragmatic—and complex—than many in the West have been led to believe.
Complete list of CFR Books
This report finds that nuclear weapons will remain a fundamental element of U.S. national security in the near term, and makes recommendations on how to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the U.S. deterrent nuclear force, prevent nuclear terrorism, and strengthen the nuclear nonproliferation regime.
About Independent Task Forces at CFR
Complete list of Task Force reports
The Canadian oil sands present an important challenge to policymakers: they promise energy security benefits but present climate change problems. Michael A. Levi assesses the energy security and climate change effects of the oil sands and makes recommendations for U.S. policymakers within the context of broader bilateral relations with Canada.
This report explores an important element of the maritime policy regime: the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Author Scott G. Borgerson examines the international negotiations that led to the convention, the history of debates in the United States over whether to join it, and the strategic importance of the oceans for U.S. foreign policy today.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
To request permission to reprint or reuse CFR material, please fill out this permissions request form (PDF), referring to the instructions on page 1.
Copyright 2009 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.