The Myth of Energy Independence
Since Russia first began lining troops along the Ukrainian border, executing what the world was meant to believe were “military exercises,” talk of energy independence has been on the rise. Everyone uses Russian oil—10% of the globe’s consumed barrels are Russian—and the United States is no exception. (NYT 2022) But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine turned that fact into a political predicament: it’s a bad look for our leaders to be reliant on a country threatening peace in Europe to provide our gas, heating, and electricity. It also looks bad for American energy authorities, both the government and gas companies, to be at the whims of the global market when it comes to price. With gas prices well over four dollars a gallon, consumers want someone to blame. Calling for energy independence takes power away from a perceived evil and gives American authorities someone to blame.
The reality of energy independence is, of course, more complicated than taking power away from foreign aggressors. . To start, the U.S. is already a net energy exporter, meaning we sell off more oil, natural gas, coal, and renewable energy than we buy from other nations. (Forbes 2022) This implies that, if necessary or desirable, the U.S. could simply replace those imports with the energy we already produce. In other words, the U.S. already has the capacity to be energy independent—and has had it, in fact, since April 2020. (Forbes 2022)
Why, then, haven’t calls for energy independence resulted in action? One reason is lost revenue. Selling energy to other countries is a huge source of income for the American government. But even without direct energy imports, American energy prices would still be reactionary to global market prices. Even if a country produces all their own resources, instability in one country will affect resource price and supply across the world. As one former State Department energy diplomat described: “there is no true energy independence.” (NYT 2022)
Even though complete isolation from international trade is impossible, the myth of energy independence is incredibly persistent. On April 7, Congress banned oil imports from Russia, in what Politico called a “punch” to Moscow. Like advocating for energy independence in general, the legislation is mostly symbolic. The U.S. imports very little oil from Russia. Still, the bill received bipartisan support in the House, and passed the Senate unanimously. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer remarked, on the passing of the bill, that “[no] nation whose military is committing war crimes deserves free-trade status with the United States,” and called Putin a “vile thug”. (Politico 2022) This discourse gets to the heart of the discussion around energy independence: an us-versus-them narrative that serves mostly to advance nationalist messaging and support a patriotic image of national identity.
There’s a term coined for this rhetoric, “energy nationalism.”. Advocates of energy independence often stress rejection of the international market and consolidation of resources and power for their own nation. Right now, those narratives play well into the wartime story which presents America as a benevolent superpower and Russia as the evil invader; it shores up American interests while attacking Russian economic power.
Like all nationalist messaging, these calls for energy independence in response to Russian aggression boil down to exclusionary and often xenophobic ideals. Anti-Russian-oil messaging quickly devolves into anti-Russian rhetoric. Rejection of an international market aligns with rejection of international cooperation. Consolidation of resources to isolate the national power industry plays into general isolationism, one that identifies the nation as apart from and above the international community. It’s also a unifying message. Politicians use nationalism to garner support by creating a common enemy—in this case, Russia—for their people to rally behind. Energy nationalism is barely more than an empty promise that promotes American exceptionalism and demonizes international cooperation.
Sources:
Desiderio, Andrew and Siegel, Josh. No more 'dillydallying' and 'lollygagging': Congress finally puts its foot down on Russia. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/08/congress-sanction-war-putin-00023966
Krauss, Clifford. Ukraine and the Mirage of Energy Independence. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/25/business/ukraine-russia-us-oil-gas.html
Machin, Amanda. Energy Nationalism: Constructions and Contestations. https://ecpr.eu/Events/Event/PaperDetails/55856
Rapier, Robert. Surprise! The U.S. Is Still Energy Independent. https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2022/03/08/surprise-the-us-is-still-energy-independent/?sh=45dc6b0430b6