09 April 2008
Energy Policy Critical Presidential Campaign Issue
Podcast examines plans for reducing oil usage, greenhouse gas emissions
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Of all the issues being debated in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, energy policy is perhaps the most important. Modern economies worldwide, including the American economy, depend on a steady flow of energy. Making sure that gasoline, electricity and other fuels are available for businesses and households is a top priority. In recent years, energy policy has come under pressure for several reasons.
Those reasons have to do with the environment, security and the global economy. The use of fossil fuels such as coal and oil are leading to climate change. America is a large importer of oil from foreign lands -- supplies that may be put at risk of a terrorist attack. Environmental and security concerns are compounded by soaring demand for energy from developing nations, pushing up prices.
American consumers are paying more for gasoline, causing some to fear that energy prices will depress economic growth. And American politicians are feeling more pressure to address climate change.
Energy policies from Republican and Democratic politicians must take all of these issues into consideration. All three remaining candidates, Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and Republican John McCain, favor addressing climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This would require changing the current system of relying on fossil fuels, and switching to alternative fuels.
Senator Clinton's energy policy focuses on reducing consumption of foreign oil by 50 percent within 20 years, and encourages power companies to make renewable energy at least 20 percent of their power supply by 2020. Clinton also proposes eliminating tax breaks for oil companies and using those funds to create a Strategic Energy Fund. This money would fund clean coal technology and other innovations while giving tax incentives for fuel-efficient vehicles. She has called for the creation of links between China, India and other major energy-consuming nations, as well as the International Energy Agency, in an international forum modeled on the G8.
Senator Barack Obama wants to reduce oil consumption by over 7 million barrels a day by 2025 and increase the fuel economy of cars to over 27 miles a gallon. He also supports tax breaks for users of clean fuels. Obama has been criticized for supporting coal-to-liquid legislation; some experts say the technology releases more carbon dioxide than gasoline. He argues that the technology will create jobs. The senator also would support more nuclear power if it were safe and the waste securely stored, noting that nuclear power does not produce carbon dioxide. Obama also would invest in new alternative energy technologies and accelerate their commercialization.
Senator McCain co-authored the Lieberman-McCain Climate Stewardship Act in 2005. He favors a market-based mechanism to reduce emissions and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. McCain also has said he would greatly increase the use of nuclear power. Although McCain’s support for a limit on greenhouse gas emissions breaks with a number of his colleagues in the Republican party, he believes that a cap-and-trade system would give the free market the right environment to innovate and deploy solutions on the scale necessary to avoid disruptive climate change.
This podcast is produced by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs. Links to other Internet sites or opinions expressed should not be considered an endorsement of other content and views.
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(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
