In their convention speeches President Trump and his running mate, U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH), left no doubt about the direction they want to take American energy policy.
Trump said, “Under the Trump Administration, just three and a half short years ago, we were Energy Independent, but soon we will be Energy DOMINANT and supply not only ourselves but the world.”
For his part, Vance said the campaign is “about the energy worker in Pennsylvania and Ohio, who doesn’t understand why Joe Biden is willing to buy energy from tinpot dictators but not hard-working Americans right here at home … We won’t buy energy from countries that hate us, we’ll get it right here from American Workers.”
>>>READ: Energy Policies a Potential Trump-Vance Administration Should Prioritize
In the spirit of President Trump’s all-caps call for the U.S. to be DOMINANT, I would simply add that it’s also advisable to say you care about environmental stewardship and overtly make the connection between DOMINANCE and DECARBONIZATION if you care about winning younger, independent voters and winning congressional majorities necessary to enact durable legislative victories that will reduce inflation and improve our national security.
While neither Trump nor Vance focused on the “is decarbonization” portion of my proposed “dominance is decarbonization” argument, neither spent time beating the “climate denier” drum nor did they contradict where the GOP truly is on climate and energy policy.
The economy or the climate? Why not both?
Subscribe for ideas that support the environment and the people.
Fortunately, the GOP has already spelled out where it is. Last year, the Republican House passed H.R. 1 – the Lower Energy Costs Act. In a statement hailing the passage of H.R. 1, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) said, “[W]hen we are increasing domestic production in the U.S., we’re also lowering carbon emissions.”
Meanwhile, the House Conservative Climate Caucus has grown to include 80-plus members who universally recognize the need to say “we’re also lowering carbon emissions” when discussing energy policy.
This argument is not only good politics; it’s also good policy. And it’s true. As we’ve consistently shown, free economies are twice as clean as less free economies. Moving toward energy abundance – a waypoint on the path to dominance – will lower inflation, spur innovation and help expedite the deployment of cleaner, next-generation technologies. That’s how the world works. It’s counterintuitive but true: we need to produce emissions (through an “all of the above” energy strategy) in order to reduce emissions. Voters and working Americans understand this point much more clearly than many politicians realize.
Coming out of the convention, the Trump campaign is feeling confident. But If President Biden is replaced at the top of the Democratic ticket, they will have to work much harder to win over independent voters who want to hear more than “drill baby drill.”
>>>READ: Biden’s Dangerous Climate Extremism
Trump has everything to gain, and nothing to lose, by making the next logical – and true – point that American energy leadership will produce not only breathtaking economic benefits but environmental benefits as well. Our friends at the American Conservation Coalition went to the convention to press this case and we applaud them for doing so. Trump doesn’t have to listen to us or ACC. He can cite his own record. Trump’s first term showed that maintaining America’s engine of innovation helps the environment. Carbon emissions decreased during the Trump years because he prioritized energy affordability and access.
Republicans will, and should, continue to argue about a great many things related to climate and energy policy (such as trade, tariffs and how to best reform the Department of Energy) but there is no internal or intramural debate about the wisdom of producing more energy here at home.
“Dominance is decarbonization” isn’t a perfect consensus but it’s a powerful consensus that could shape the world for the better for decades to come.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
