America has become a global energy powerhouse.
This is wonderful news. The shale energy revolution underway in our country may have broken OPEC’s ability to control the price of oil.
Larry Bell posted an analysis to CFACT.org discussing the competitive edge America has already gained through its development of abundant, affordable energy. Lower energy prices mean lower-priced goods and services, and this is good for U.S. consumers and businesses alike.
America’s energy revolution, however, has OPEC and Europe worried.
Many OPEC nations are flirting with oil production at or below break-even levels. They’re getting desperate. Attempts to boost oil prices through production cuts are being thwarted by nations desperate for additional revenue that are willing to cheat, as well as by American oil producers who stand ready to fill the gap.
Europeans are worried that the high-energy prices, caused by their misguided climate policies, have locked them into a competitive economic disadvantage. They don’t seem to mind much when nations such as China and India fill the gap, but the notion of favorably priced American goods is more than they can stand.
Europeans want to use the UN Paris Climate Agreement to shackle U.S. industry to the kind of high-priced energy they are now burdened with. Expensive American energy won’t do anything meaningful to alter the temperature, but it can damage the competitiveness of American goods.
Bottom line: If there’s going to be misery and suffering, Europe wants us to share in it.
Freeing America from the UN climate pact and removing roadblocks to energy production is imperative. It will keep America competitive and on the right track.
It’s the surest way to grow the economy, create jobs, and move from financial deficits to surplus.