By Not Promoting Energy Infrastructure, the US Could Be Bankrolling Putin
In a recent column for Fox News, former Texas governor Rick Perry perfectly captures the problem with the Biden administration’s approach to energy: symbolic greenwashing politics have overshadowed the needs of the public and our international allies. These policies have unsurprisingly received bipartisan backlash.
For example, the Biden administration has placed an indefinite suspension on future liquified natural gas (LNG) export infrastructure. This means that for the foreseeable future, natural gas export facilities will not be able to apply for new licenses to operate and engage in trade. Biden and his Department of Energy (DOE) instituted this halt to reevaluate whether applications are “in the public interest.” However, there is no debate as to whether energy exports are in the public interest or not, and Governor Perry illustrates how it is simply indisputable that stopping LNG projects is “playing right into Putin’s hands.”
Perry also explains how Russia is a dangerous energy bully, dangling its resources over Europe’s head and wielding them as a geopolitical bargaining tool and threat. As Biden’s policies destroy American energy independence, they also destabilize the energy security of our European allies, forcing them to look to Russia for energy.
Historically, the European Union (EU) has relied on Russia for a large portion of its energy needs. In 2019, nearly 50% of the EU’s gas demand was supplied by Russia alone, and in 2022, that number dropped to 25%, which still boasts quite a significant share. Since the invasion of Ukraine, the EU has been desperately attempting to decrease energy imports from Russia, and Biden, at one point, had urged United States energy industry to rise to the occasion and lend extra support for our friends in the EU. That’s no longer happening.
Governor Perry’s statements are urgent and should raise alarm. Our nation must promote energy security for both ourselves and our European allies, and that starts with pushing balanced and stable energy policies that emphasize reliability—sources like natural gas and nuclear power—rather than singularly concentrating on renewables. We cannot afford grid or national security risk.