A Rare Opportunity:

 

Achieving a sustainable energy future is one of the greatest challenges facing the United States and the world today. Our current energy system is destroying the environment, hindering development and undermining security. From climate change to conflict in the Middle East, the consequences of the world’s fossil fuel dependence are increasingly evident.

In the U.S., skyrocketing oil prices, conflict in the Middle East, and growing concern over global warming have boosted energy to the top of the political agenda. The result is a rare moment of opportunity to shape U.S. energy policy. We must use this moment to build a better energy future.

We believe the U.S. should work in partnership with other nations to:

• Achieve a global transition away from fossil fuel dependence and towards diverse, sustainable energy sources
• Provide poor countries with the clean and safe energy tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty while maintaining the integrity of local ecosystems
• Ensure that the world’s energy resources are not used as political bargaining tools

As the world’s largest consumer of energy, and the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the U.S. has both a unique power and a real responsibility to exercise its leadership to achieve these goals.

 

Why We Can’t Go It Alone:

 

Policymakers on both sides of the aisle have been promoting energy independence as the solution to all our energy ills. Global warming, conflict in the Middle East, a crippled foreign policy, and rising oil prices – all will be healed by turning to domestic sources of energy from coal to corn to the untapped oil reserves in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge.

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. The U.S. is part of a global energy system, in which the energy policies and activities of each nation affect all nations. If the U.S. stopped importing oil tomorrow, we would still face a host of problems as a result of the rest of the world’s continued dependence on oil and natural gas:

• Climate change would continue unabated
• A volatile global oil market would still inflict damage on both the U.S. and the global economies
• Competition over energy would play a destructive role in international relations, contributing to global instability and making the world less safe
• Other nations’ fossil fuel dependence would undermine the effectiveness of U.S. foreign policy

If we are to overcome the shared energy challenges we face, we must work together with other nations.

 

Linked Challenges, Linked Solutions:

 

Just as we cannot solve global challenges by isolating ourselves from other nations, we cannot solve the linked challenges to environment, development and security posed by our energy choices without understanding how they are connected. Poverty and underdevelopment undermine lead to instability and environmental degradation. A healthy environment is the key to ending poverty and achieving sustainable development. Climate change threatens both development and security as it wreaks havoc on the world's environment. Only by working to develop comprehensive solutions that are good for development, good for the environment and good for security will we build a future in which all the world's citizens have access to affordable, clean, and sustainable sources of energy.