ICYMI: Clean Energy is the Key to Delivering Energy Security and Stability to American Consumers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: March 1st, 2022

Washington, D.C. – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine placed Big Oil, and its connections to autocrats like Vladmir Putin, under a microscope. A growing chorus of experts are speaking with one voice on how turbocharging America’s clean energy economy will further U.S. national security interests and deliver stability to American consumers.

In response, Big Oil CEOs trotted out their supporters in Congress and industry groups to try to claim “energy security” will only be achieved with more drilling. However, no matter how hard the industry tries, they can’t escape how the conflict revealed the instability and volatility at the heart of oil and gas markets.

World leaders joined national security experts, business leaders, and academics to make the argument that it’s time to empower democracies by building the energy sources of the future at home.

Here’s what world leaders and international experts are saying about the importance of clean energy in countering Putin:

Kwasi Kwarteng, Business & Energy Secretary of the United Kingdom

“Now more than ever we must focus on generating cheaper, cleaner power in Britain, for Britain. All while helping our European allies move away from their dependency on Russian oil and gas. This is how we become energy self-sufficient in the long-term.” [Twitter, 2/28/22]

Svitlana Krakovska, head of the Ukrainian delegation to the IPCC

“Human induced climate change and the war on Ukraine have the same roots, fossil fuels, and our dependence on them.” [Washington Post, 2/27/22]

Erin Sikorsky, director of the Center for Climate and Security

“There’s been a lot of concern about dependence on Russian [natural] gas, and whether that inhibits countries’ ability to stand up to Russia. The more that countries can wean themselves off oil and gas and move toward renewables, the more independence they have in terms of action.” [The LA Times, 2/26/22]

Olaf Scholz, German Chancellor

“The events of the past few days have shown us that responsible, forward-looking energy policy is decisive not only for our economy and the environment. It is also decisive for our security.” [Reuters, 2/27/22]

Robert Habeck, Vice Chancellor of Germany

“People see that [renewable energy] is not only a climate-related issue, but a safety or security-related issue right now.” [AP, 2/24/22]

Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President

“A strong European Union cannot be so reliant on an energy supplier that threatens to start a war on our continent… We are doubling down on renewables. This will increase Europe’s strategic independence on energy.” [E&E News, 2/22/22]

Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy

“We have to reduce dependency on Russian gas, diversify our suppliers and invest in renewables.” [Washington Post, 2/23/22]

Sarah Ladislaw, Managing Director at the Rocky Mountain Institute

“Oil staying above or near $100 a barrel for a protracted period of time just makes renewable investment look better. If the price environment and the strategic conflict lasts a bit longer, I think it drives people to find alternatives.” [The LA Times, 2/26/22]

Bill McKibben, Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College and founder of 350.org

“[Transitioning to clean energy] dramatically reduces the power of autocrats, dictators, and thugs. Imagine a Europe that ran on solar and wind power: whose cars ran on locally provided electricity, and whose homes were heated by electric air-source heat pumps. That Europe would not be funding Putin’s Russia, and it would be far less scared of Putin’s Russia – it could impose every kind of sanction, and keep them in place until the country buckled.” [The Guardian, 2/25/22]

Here’s what experts are saying about the fossil fuel lobby’s response to the invasion:

David Victor, Professor of International Relations at UC San Diego

“API’s answer for all of the world’s problems is to remove constraints on domestic oil and gas production. It’s just a very well-rehearsed argument.” [The LA Times, 2/26/22]

Kathy Hipple, Professor or Finance at Bard College and a research fellow at the Ohio River Valley Institute

“Does anyone want to continue to be dependent on oligarchs in Russia, Saudi Arabia, Canada’s oil, a handful of private companies in the United States? To my mind, that’s not resilient.” [The New York Times, 2/26/22]

Nathaniel Stinnett, founder and executive director of the Environmental Voter Project

“It’s pretty rich for the oil and gas industry to talk about how reliable fossil fuels are when any big storm that happens, any time a war pops up, their reliability is thrown into question. Wars aren’t fought over solar energy. You don’t see these huge price spikes in clean energy.” [The New York Times, 2/26/22]

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