Environmental attacks on the US fossil fuel industry are unproductive

In 1835, a prominent French scholar of American democracy wrote, Alexis de Tocqueville“The United States is a dynamic country, and its people tend to have strong opinions that are not always justified,” he said. “The country’s stubborn nature has led to bold innovations and incredible leaps from the “impossible.” Erie Canal From space flight in 1825 to mankind landing on the moon in 1969, scientific and technological innovations have limitations and will not work if they are flawed. But flawed political policies can cause great damage until they are resolved. The most tragic example is the Civil War.

Now the country faces a new battle, this time over environmental and energy policy linked to concerns about climate change, with the positions of the two political parties and their supporters almost completely at odds. Pew Center Poll The survey found that 59% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters see climate change as a top priority, while only 12% of Republicans say the same.

Environmentalist criticism of the fossil fuel industry has been intensified by publications such as: Naomi Oreskes and Eric Conway, Robert J. Brulé William S. Becker. The authors emphasize that fossil fuel companies had early information about global warming but then launched propaganda and lobbying campaigns to reduce concern about the problem and opposed aggressive government policies on climate change. Michael Manncalls companies “the enemy.”

The author suggests that while an anti-industry attitude may seem justified for the reasons mentioned above and the need to reduce greenhouse gases produced by fossil fuels, the mutual hostility between environmentalists and industry over the past four decades does not support the idea that increased hostility and tougher measures will bring about progress.

A sign that the trend is not in favor of continued hostility is that Republican President George H.W. Bush supported the last major revision of the Clean Air Act. Suspension of oil and gas leasing In most waters off the coast of the United States, President Donald Trump The US withdrewFrom the Paris Agreement on greenhouse gas emissions.

Research shows that polarization Major Obstacles to U.S. Progress Addressing climate change. Successful countries make industry a key player in national policy. This issue is critical for the United States because: Largest cumulative source of atmospheric CO2Swedish policy has led a Swedish daily newspaper to describe the U.S.Environmental Gang. ”

Swedes can criticize the U.S. for being 58% on track to achieve its national target of net-zero carbon emissions. Percentage of total energy from renewable sources That compares with 11% for the U.S. in 2020, while Sweden has a strong record of environmental leadership, plus strong industry and trade surpluses. US trade at record high and Budget deficitLet’s consider some hard facts.

Energy supply is a core requirement for the nation. Economic development. When hydraulic fracturing began in 2006, the U.S. 57 percent of crude oil demandFracking helped the United States become a net energy exporter in 2020.

Natural gas is the main product of fracking operations, and therefore can be used to replace coal in coal-fired power plants, thus providing a large part of the emissions reduction. The fact that natural gas in the United States is a quarter of the price of Europe has helped the US industrial and private economies and allowed for large-scale federal spending on infrastructure and renewable energy development. The US is Largest Supplier Since the invasion of Ukraine, liquefied natural gas exports to Europe have fallen by 27 percent.

An important consideration in reducing fossil fuel use is that fracked oil and gas areas Short useful life They depend on continued drilling operations. Oil and gas from conventional reservoirs can produce for decades. So when renewable energy becomes more available, fracked oil can be taken out of production more quickly than conventional reservoirs.

A factor that plays a key role in public policy is the fact that while Democratic and Republican voters agree on very few issues, the only thing they have in common is the importance of the economy, according to a Pew Research Center poll. Even the Biden administration, which is working on green energy policies, recognized that acting too aggressively against the oil and gas industry could cause price shocks and disruptions to energy supplies, losing public support in an already volatile political environment.

Whatever one thinks about the company’s policies, oil companies are one of the most efficient and technologically advanced industries in the country. Overly aggressive policies have undermined morale in the industry and Enron A syndrome in which corporations adopt policies that are politically expedient.

Major environmental NGOs are not innocent in the dispute over U.S. energy policy. With the exception of the Environmental Defense Fund and the World Resources Institute, most Attacking fossil fuel companies Companies would be wise to promote renewable or carbon-free energy development and other positive efforts rather than litigate and block industry efforts. The industry is responding with hostility; loyalty is valued in industry leadership, and new executives with innovative ideas are not attracted to or embraced by the industry. Changing this paradigm is important because the industry’s technology and other resources are essential to the green energy transition.

Scandinavian countries and Germany While it offers a way forward, it may be difficult to apply directly to the increasingly partisan United States, where business plays a key role in government planning for energy and environmental policy.

The government would benefit from using industry information and perspectives to minimize opposition, while industry would gain insight into government goals and initiatives and be able to make recommendations. In other words, industry would become a partner in policymaking, rather than viewing government as an adversary, as in the US. A key step forward if more collaborative policies were put in place would be for Corporate America, the American Petroleum Institute, and the US Chamber of Commerce, which represent 3 million businesses, to be interested in hiring creative and open-minded leaders to participate in government planning.

Frank T. Manheim is an associate professor in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University.