A version of this column was published in print on Thursday, June 24, 2010. I welcome your feedback. You can also interact with me on Facebook and Twitter.
Thursday, Karen Alderman Harbert, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy, will address the quarterly luncheon of Cornerstone Regional Development Partnership, a division of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce. Harbert leads the Institute’s efforts to build support for meaningful energy action nationally and internationally through policy development, education and advocacy. I spoke with her about the chamber’s efforts to reform energy policy.
What is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce doing to promote energy reform?
We want to empower people to speak to policy makers to enact common sense energy reform that will ensure we have an affordable, diverse supply of energy resources going forward to power our economy back to health. Business owners are very concerned, as we work to bring the economy back, that energy prices don’t go up. In the wake of this terrible Gulf of Mexico accident, it is also important to keep our eyes on the ball and recognize that oil and gas are part of our energy future, and we need to make sure as our federal government responds to this, that it doesn’t impair the ability of America to be able to use its natural resources in the future.
Some Floridians are pushing a ban on offshore drilling. Do you see that as complicating efforts to meet future needs?
We don’t support rash policy decisions that may feel good today but impair our economy in the future. We need to be very aware of unintended consequences. In Florida, offshore drilling has been very controversial and we respect those views, but we certainly couldn’t entertain a national ban. Our transportation sector is 94 percent dependent on oil and if we pursue policies that prevent us from pursuing our resources here, it will only mean two things — we’ll have to import oil from other places and it will be more expensive. It’s going to take time to transition to a lower carbon future and we need to do that rationally.
What are a few things the government can do immediately to effect meaningful change?
We presented 88 ideas to President Obama and the Congress that are concrete and lay out a road map for action. The first thing we could do — the next best source of energy — is the one we waste. We need to improve energy efficiency. For example, 40 percent of our nation’s energy is spent in the built environment. If we improve building codes and require more efficient construction from the outset, we would certainly be improving our energy standards and improving the environment at the same time. Another area would be infrastructure. In Florida, you are considering nuclear capacity and expansion of natural gas capacity. If we want to create jobs and have affordable and reliable energy, we have to support getting these projects off the drawing board and make them reality.
What can we do to encourage use of more renewable energy?
Wind and solar comprise 1.2 percent of our electricity generation, but we haven’t had a sustainable policy on renewables. We turn the subsidy on and off every two years, which doesn’t make sense if you’re trying to write a business plan for a wind farm. We need to commit to a more sustainable policy that gives the certainty these investors need to make these big investments. But we can’t subsidize anything forever. It would make sense to commit to subsidies for eight years and then phase it out.
What is the role of government in encouraging investment in research and development of alternative energy sources?
Prior to the stimulus, we called for a doubling of the dollars into research and development. If you take out the stimulus dollars, we are investing less today than we were after the oil embargo. In this case, there needs to be a partnership — the government shouldn’t do it all and the private sector can’t do it all. The government must be involved in long-term research, but increasing private sector involvement in the research accelerates the research time-frame and increases the prospects of getting something that is commercially viable.
