Natural Gas and Oil – The Safe, Reliable Way Forward

Mark Green
Posted January 5, 2023

There’s good stuff in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO, in which Dimon calls for a new era of bold American leadership. Among his points, this one stands out:

“… it should be self-evident that energy security and preventing climate change aren’t contradictory: Secure and reliable oil and gas production is compatible with reducing CO2 over the long run, and is far better than burning more coal.”

What Dimon wrote is part of his argument for a Marshall Plan for global energy and food security, which is certainly timely and follows similar encouragements for policymakers to support American energy production with greater urgency.

We have seen why Dimon feels so strongly. If anything, 2022 illustrated the risks to all when global energy supply doesn’t keep pace with global demand. This was especially clear in Europe, where Russian aggression in Ukraine rekindled energy security concerns that many thought were largely solved by transitioning to new energy sources.

Well, not so fast. Europe’s energy plan entrusted energy security to still-growing and not completely reliable energy sources – and Russian natural gas. Bad plan. When nations sanctioned Russia for invading Ukraine, Moscow weaponized its natural gas. Chiefly because of American shipments of liquefied natural gas, catastrophe was avoided. But energy security came roaring back as a chief concern for policymakers.

In fact, we can strengthen energy security for America and bolster our allies’ energy security from a position of strength – safe, reliable American natural gas and oil.

America doesn’t have to hope or trust that other, not-yet-as-reliable energy sources will be able to handle being the country’s lead energies before they’re ready. Remember, the U.S. Energy Information Administration has projected that natural gas and oil, which provide about 60% of our energy today, will still be providing nearly half of it in 2050.

There’s needless risk and potential harm in doing anything other than embracing natural gas and oil as the strategic assets they are and using them, safely and responsibly, to help build a lower-carbon future. API’s Climate Action Framework details this progression, and API’s action plan explains how the right set of policies can help secure U.S. energy leadership now and for the future.

This is the safe and secure way forward, as Dimon pointed out in the Journal and has talked about with frequency in recent months. It’s the path Washington policymakers should take for America’s energy security and global energy leadership.