This commentary is by Cody Godfrey and Indigo Glaza; both are environmental studies majors at the University of Vermont.
With the U.S. coming out of a yearlong economic struggle due to Covid-19, we have found ourselves in a vulnerable position. On May 7, the Colonial Pipeline suffered a cyberattack, causing fuel shortages across the eastern U.S., cutting off energy supplies for millions of Americans for five days.
This ransomware attack showcased the fragility of U.S. oil dependency and the need to diversify the American energy economy. The vast majority of American energy comes from fossil fuels, an unsustainable and volatile source of energy. Not only does relying on fossil fuels exacerbate climate change, but it also puts the U.S. at greater risk of threats from foreign adversaries.
This points to the necessary diversification of the U.S. energy profile, including the adoption of domestically sourced solar energy, among other renewables. The fortification of our energy sector and eventual transition to renewables, however, cannot happen without the use of fossil fuels. The very notion that a renewable transition will destroy the fossil fuel industry is ridiculous, given the fact that renewables depend on fossil fuels to construct.
Fossil fuels are here for the immediate future and will undoubtedly be critical to the development of our renewable energy sector. Still, there is no time to waste in hybridizing our economy. Climate change isn’t some far-off prospect, as it’s already damaging the U.S economy.
Intense heat waves, devastating wildfires and unpredictable storm patterns have caused $95 billion in damage in 2020 alone, and more than $600 billion in the last five years, and science suggests that these climatic events will become more severe and unpredictable the longer action is not taken.
The reality is that the U.S. is late in addressing climate change, failing to prepare and lagging behind other nations.
Establishing a flexible and diverse energy portfolio strengthens national security. While the U.S. makes slow progress on this front, China has surpassed the U.S. in renewable energy capacity by a factor of three, putting that nation ahead in the race to total energy independence. China’s renewable energy dominance gives it influence and power on the world stage, evident through China’s renewable energy initiatives in Africa, which has weakened U.S. political and economic influence.
It’s in the best interest of the United States to become the global leader in renewable energy, increasing economic influence and moving the world to a more secure energy future. U.S. policymakers’ reluctance to push for aggressive renewable energy development is not an economic decision but rather a political one, evident through the continually lower prices of renewable energy in the last decade. In the last 10 years alone, wind energy prices have fallen 70% and solar a whopping 89%, and are predicted to drop even more in the future.
Even under the pro-fossil fuel Trump administration, when renewable tax incentives were phased out, solar hit record levels of energy generation. Renewable energy is already outcompeting fossil fuels, and generating more energy at a much lower environmental cost, proving that it is in fact cheaper to save the climate than destroy it.
There are many challenges in achieving this hybrid energy future. The cost of complete decarbonization is estimated at $4.5 trillion, and it will take decades before the U.S is not reliant on fossil fuel energy.
Passing the policies necessary to kickstart this transition will be a struggle as well, especially when considering the rate at which American representatives vote against much-needed economic and environmental policy, such as the Senate defeat of the Green New Deal.
Yet, a new era of big government spending might be just around the corner. Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan focuses on pushing for a renewable transition, showing the Biden administration aims to tackle climate change. If policymakers can unite to face the monumental challenges of climate change, there is incredible potential for the U.S to lead the world in renewable energy production, lower carbon emissions, and energy security.
