It’s Getting Hot In Here

Today, we have an op-ed published in the Presidents’ Day edition of The Plain Dealer, the largest newspaper in Ohio. The op-ed, “Winning Ohio’s energy future,” arrives one day before President Obama visits Cleveland to promote the administration’s “winning the future” agenda and host a business forum on entrepreneurship and innovation.

Co-authored with the CEO of the Cleveland Foundation, one of the country’s largest community foundations, we discuss how greater federal investment in clean energy technology innovation — on the scale of $15 billion annually for R&D — can unleash economic growth in the Midwest and across America, help recapture our global clean-tech leadership, and drive down the price of low-carbon energy.

Winning Ohio’s energy future
The Plain Dealer – Cleveland, OH
Monday, February 21, 2011

By Ronald B. Richard and Teryn Norris

When President Barack Obama visits Cleveland on Tuesday to talk about entrepreneurship and innovation, he will find a city and state where those forces are driving a revolution in clean, green energy – and where a greater federal commitment to energy innovation can secure our national competitiveness.

Continue reading ‘Presidents Day: Winning Our Energy Future’

By Teryn Norris & Daniel Goldfarb
Published by Americans for Energy Leadership

President Obama’s exclusion of “climate change” from the State of the Union, combined with Carol Browner’s exit as the administration’s top climate advisor, has sparked wide debate across the climate movement. On one hand, many climate advocates are backing the president’s strategy. As Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) put it, “He’s trying to unify… I think it was very smart of him.”

On the other hand, climate advocates like Joe Romm of Climate Progress and David Roberts of Grist are criticizing the president for not using climate change as a central justification for his clean energy proposals.  Unfortunately, even after the collapse of cap and trade legislation, Roberts and other critics continue to follow a type of policy literalism that has undermined environmentalists and climate advocates for years.

The argument goes something like this.  First, Roberts claims that without climate change as the central justification, the case for federal investment in the clean energy industry “is no stronger than the argument for supporting pharmaceuticals, or telecom, or any other industry that’s likely to be big in the 21st century.” (Roberts wrote partly in response to Norris’ article on the rise of “innovation hawks.”)

However, as the American Energy Innovation Council and the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology recently explained in their reports, other industries like pharmaceuticals, aerospace, and computer electronics spend far more on research and development than the energy industry, due to a variety of market and non-market barriers.  The underinvestment is dramatic: whereas pharmaceuticals invest about 18.7% of sales in R&D, the U.S. energy industry only invests 0.3%.  The federal government already invests over $30 billion annually in health research, and $80 billion on military R&D, but only $3-5 billion in energy R&D.

Continue reading ‘Obama’s Climate Omission: Can We Disagree on Climate and Win on Clean Energy?’

Andrew Revkin, who runs New York Times Dot Earth and formerly served as the lead NYT environment/energy reporter, has a new post, “America’s Energy Challenge, and Opportunity,” asking what people would say to President Obama about energy if he were to launch a national energy listening tour with his State of the Union tomorrow:

“As I asked on Sunday, if he does this, and the Obama Energy Road Show came to your town, what would you say? Below, you can read “Obama moment” statements on energy from industry representatives to climate campaigners, scientists to investors… When President John F. Kennedy announced plans to send men to the Moon, it was not because people were marching with signs demanding a space race. There were a host of reasons – strategic, economic, military, visionary and more. Kennedy wove them into a comprehensive, challenging and extraordinarily productive technological journey.”

He invited several scientists, advocates, and pundits to kick off the discussion with a few sentences, including Bill McKibben, Nathan Lewis, Andrew Karsner, Roger Pielke, Marty Hoffert, Paul Hawken, and others, and it’s worth reading their thoughts. He posted my contribution here alongside theirs, where I spoke to the “new Sputnik moment” the president is declaring:

Continue reading ‘Speaking to President Obama on Energy: What’s Your Elevator Pitch?’

Published by Americans for Energy Leadership

On Wednesday, several of the country’s leading energy experts gathered at the National Press Club in Washington, DC for the Energy Innovation 2010 conference. Their purpose? Reframing the national energy discussion in the aftermath of cap and trade and beginning the transition to a new federal clean energy strategy.

Hosted by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation and Breakthrough Institute, and co-sponsored by a large coalition of think tanks across the political spectrum, the conference drew hundreds of attendants for a day of presentations and panels. Speakers and moderators included ARPA-E Director Dr. Arun Majumdar, DOE Under Secretary of Energy Cathy Zoi, Nobel Laureate Burton Richter, Andrew Revkin of New York Times, Bryan Walsh of Time Magazine, and many others.

For forty years, the federal government has failed to implement a strategy for cutting U.S. dependence on fossil fuels. And for over a decade, cap and trade has defined the federal policy vision of the U.S. clean energy and environmental community, only to collapse in summer 2010.

Continue reading ‘Energy Innovation 2010: A New Beginning for U.S. Energy Policy’

By Daniel Goldfarb, Published by Americans for Energy Leadership

On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that hedge funds are increasing short selling in U.S. renewable energy stocks to an annual high as firms like Goldman Sachs trim their clean-tech positions. These steps have already damaged the U.S. wind industry, and hedge funds are rallying against First Solar, Tesla Motors, and other firms, potentially endangering a strategic national industry and thousands of American jobs.

As we’ve previously reported, support for the U.S. clean energy industry is teetering on the edge of a federal funding cliff as stimulus investments dry up.  Unfortunately, that cliff just became substantially steeper.  A lack of public support is sending ripples through the financial world, magnifying the impact of a lack of action in Washington as major financial institutions hedge against the predicted fall:

“In the run-up to this week’s global climate talks in Mexico, short sellers targeted makers of wind turbines, solar panels and electric cars whose sales also were undermined by cash-strapped European governments cutting subsidies. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and BlackRock Group trimmed long positions in renewable-energy shares in the third quarter, filings show.

…“We are just coming off a period of strong fundamental performance and we expect demand to weaken sharply,” Robert Clover, global head of clean power research at HSBC Plc in London, said in an interview. Clover forecast that global panel demand will drop 50 percent in the first quarter of next year from the previous three months.

Continue reading ‘U.S. Cleantech Industry Endangered as Wall Street Sells Short’

Published by National Journal
Energy & Environment Expert Blog

By Teryn Norris
November 16, 2010

In the aftermath of the mid-term elections, it’s unlikely that Washington can overcome the crippling gridlock in Congress. Yet one critical opportunity for bipartisan compromise stands out among the rest: energy policy.

Addressing the country the day after elections, President Obama signaled a clear opening by pressing the reset button on cap and trade and calling for a new agenda. “I don’t think there’s anybody in America who thinks that we’ve got an energy policy that works the way it needs to, that thinks that we shouldn’t be working on energy independence,” he declared. “And that gives opportunities for Democrats and Republicans to come together and think about… how do we move forward on that agenda.”

Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) quickly agreed. “I think energy is an area where there is potential for a bipartisan accomplishment of some consequence,” Senator McConnell told the Wall Street Journal. “There are a variety of other things there could be pretty broad agreement on… Nobody thinks it is a bad idea to reduce carbon emissions, the question is how do you do it.”

Continue reading ‘How Energy Reform Can Break the Partisan Stalemate’

Published by National Journal
Energy & Environment Expert Blog

By Teryn Norris
October 14, 2010

Only a couple short months after the demise of cap and trade, a new bipartisan flag for national energy and climate reform has officially been flown. It stands as a report released yesterday called “Post-Partisan Power” by scholars at three major U.S. think tanks – including the conservative American Enterprise Institute, the centrist Brookings Institution, and the Breakthrough Institute – and represents a powerful new rallying point for U.S. clean energy and climate advocates of all stripes.

The heart of the plan is to overhaul the U.S. energy innovation system with strategic federal investments in clean energy, on the scale of $25 billion annually, to rapidly drive down the cost of low-carbon energy technologies for deployment in the U.S. and abroad. Based on the same federal model that developed microchips, the Internet, and numerous other technological breakthroughs, the investment would easily pay for itself in economic growth and increased federal tax revenue.

The bipartisan approach is already receiving widespread recognition as representing perhaps the only serious and viable alternative to cap and trade. As David Leonhardt wrote in the New York Times, “To put it another way, the death of cap and trade doesn’t have to mean the death of climate policy. The alternative revolves around much more, and much better organized, financing for clean energy… It’s an idea with a growing list of supporters, a list that even includes conservatives – most of whom opposed cap and trade.”

Continue reading ‘The Next Bipartisan Energy Agenda’

By Teryn Norris & Daniel Goldfarb
Cross-posted from LeadEnergy.org

China is rising to dominate the clean energy industry primarily due to direct government subsidies, according to a new investigative report by the New York Times. The rise of China’s “green mercantilism” marks a new stage in the global clean energy race and raises critical questions for U.S. competitiveness policy.  According to the report:

The booming Chinese clean energy sector, now more than a million jobs strong, is quickly coming to dominate the production of technologies essential to slowing global warming… much of China’s clean energy success lies in aggressive government policies that help this crucial export industry in ways most other governments do not… “Who wins this clean energy race,” Mr. Zhao of Sunzone said, “really depends on how much support the government gives.”

China’s clean energy industrial policy is unique in its scale and type, and some of its practices may violate World Trade Organization rules and could spark trade conflict between the United States and China:

These measures risk breaking international rules to which China and almost all other nations subscribe, according to some trade experts… Other countries also try to help their clean energy industries, too, but not to the extent that China does — and not, so far at least, to the point of potentially running afoul of W.T.O. rules.

Continue reading ‘The Rise of China’s Green Mercantilism’

Published by National Journal at the Energy & Environment Expert Blog

By Teryn Norris

When future scholars document the history of global warming, one of the watershed years will almost surely be 2010. For over a decade, the primary goal of U.S. climate policy advocates has been to establish a strong carbon pollution cap and a binding global emissions treaty. Armed with large war chests and major electoral victories, climate advocates had one of the best opportunities to achieve these goals.

This agenda has collapsed. In the aftermath of the Copenhagen climate negotiations and recent developments in the Senate, it is clear that carbon caps in the U.S. and globally will not happen for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, the IEA projects global CO2 emissions will skyrocket 40% above 2007 levels by 2030, and the EIA predicts China’s emissions will more than double over the next 25 years – which would make its emissions greater than the rest of the world combined.

What happens next? The upcoming lame-duck session in Congress could be one of the last opportunities for national reform before 2013. There are a number of incremental proposals worth pushing, from the American Clean Energy Leadership Act, to Senator Alexander and Senator Dorgan’s Electric Vehicle Deployment Act, to Senator Kerry’s latest Clean Energy Technology Leadership Act. Some still hope for a Hail Mary lame-duck pass on cap and trade, but when asked whether it could be revived, Senator Reid recently said, “It doesn’t appear so at this stage. It doesn’t have the traction that a lot of us wish it had.”

Continue reading ‘Climate Movement at the Crossroads’

Americans for Energy Leadership — one of the nation’s foremost energy policy think tanks and advocacy groups led by young people – is seeking applicants for the New Energy Leaders Project, an initiative to empower young thought leaders and help redefine the national energy and economic agenda.

What: Selective program for young leaders to engage in high-level writing, research, and discussion at the intersection of energy, economic, and national security policy.

Why: The previous clean energy and climate agenda has collapsed, and the United States needs a new generation of thought leaders to challenge conventional wisdom and reshape the next agenda.

Who: Graduate students, undergrads, and young professionals

Positions: Policy Fellows, Featured Columnists, and Contributors

When: October 2010 – February 2011

Deadline for applications is October 1st, 2010

See full description below, download as a PDF, or view online here.

Continue reading ‘Calling Young Leaders: Apply for the New Energy Leaders Project’