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Symposium

“The Road Not Taken” at 50: U.S. Energy Security for the 21st Century Symposium

1013 Opening Session

Event date



From Energy and Climate Program.

To mark the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of the seminal Foreign Affairs article by Amory Lovins, Energy Strategy: The Road Not Taken, policymakers, energy experts, and industry leaders will convene to reflect on challenges to U.S. energy security and strategies to meet the demands of the future. Panelists will analyze the ongoing effects of the crisis in Hormuz, opportunities offered by innovation and technology, and potential roadblocks to progress.

Click here to view the full agenda.

This symposium is presented by CFR’s Energy and Climate Program.

In-Person Keynote and Opening Session: “The Road Not Taken” at 50

Speakers

  • Amory Lovins
    Cofounder and Chairman Emeritus, Rocky Mountain Institute
  • Suzanne Maloney
    Vice President and Director, Foreign Policy, Brookings Institution
  • Jigar Shah
    Cohost, Energy Empire Podcast; Former Director, Loan Programs Office, U.S. Department of Energy (2021–25)

Presider

  • Vijay V. VaitheeswaranCFR Expert
    Philip D. Reed Senior Fellow and Director of the Energy and Climate Program, Council on Foreign Relations

Transcript

VAITHEESWARAN: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to members and guests here in Washington, D.C., as well as—as well as all of you joining us online, to “The Road Not Taken at 50: U.S. Energy Security for the 21st Century.” This is a special symposium that I’m delighted to moderate the first part of today. I’m Vijay Vaitheeswaran. I’m the new director of Energy and Climate and senior fellow here at the Council on Foreign Relations.
It’s really a tremendous honor to have with us today Amory Lovins, who is known to many of you but is celebrating a special event, a special connection with the Council this month. He’s a co-founder/chairman emeritus of the Rocky Mountain Institute—RMI, as it’s known these days—but also the author of a seminal piece that was published by Foreign Affairs fifty years ago this month on The Road Not Taken. And you’ll find a QR code in the handout outside for those of you—that’ll take you to the article so you can check it out as well.
This is an event sponsored by the Energy and Climate Program. And we thank particularly Daniel Poneman, who is a member of our board who...

In-Person Session Two: After the Carter Doctrine—American Energy Strategy Post-Hormuz

Speakers

  • Kevin Book
    Director of Research and Cofounder, ClearView Energy Partners, LLC; CFR Member

Presider

  • Vijay V. VaitheeswaranCFR Expert
    Philip D. Reed Senior Fellow and Director of the Energy and Climate Program, Council on Foreign Relations; CFR Member

Transcript

VAITHEESWARAN: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the second session of our special symposium here at the Council on Foreign Relations, “The Road Not Taken at 50: U.S. Energy Security for the 21st Century.” This is a session on “After the Carter Doctrine: American Energy Strategy Post-Hormuz.”
I am Vijay Vaitheeswaran. I’m the Philip D. Reed senior fellow and director of the Energy and Climate Program here at the Council, and I’ll be presiding over this discussion.
And it’s my incredible honor to have such a(n) accomplished panel. I’m really looking forward to this conversation. To my immediate right is Ed Morse, senior advisor at Hartree Partners. To his right is Kelly Sims Gallagher, dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts. And to the very far right for me, to your left, is Kevin Book, managing director, ClearView Energy Partners. And I’m very pleased to say that all four of us are proud life members here at the Council, as I’m sure are many of you as well here in D.C. and on our call.
We, of course, welcome our friends from the press and special invited guests. You’re also welcome. This...

In-Person Session Three: AI, Innovation, and Energy

Speakers

Presider

  • David M. HartCFR Expert
    Senior Fellow for Climate and Energy, Council on Foreign Relations

Transcript

HART: All right, welcome. Welcome back, for those of you who have been around for our earlier sessions, and welcome to those of you who might have just joined us. My name is David Hart. I’m a senior fellow in the Energy and Climate Program here. And it’s my pleasure and challenge to follow my colleague Vijay Vaitheeswaran. Thank you all for sticking around. Drinks will follow, so you’ll have to tough it out for that, for those of you in the room. Of course, those of you online can start drinking right away, if you like. (Laughter.) Depending on your time zone.

So this panel is about the future. And it’s about “AI, Innovation and Energy.” So you heard from Amory in the first session about the past. The last session was really about the present and the short-term future. But this is about the long run.

And I’m joined by a terrific panel. To my immediate right, Kassia Yanosek of Tana Energy Capital. To her right, Mary Powell, the CEO of Sunrun. Further down the line, Neil Chatterjee, the former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and now head of governmental affairs at Palmetto. And on my...