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Just months into his presidency, I argued President Trump should keep the United States in the Paris Climate Accord under new conditions. As an elected official from an energy-producing state, I believed then – as I do now – the United States has a leadership role to play on the world stage.
If we recuse ourselves, we diminish our opportunities to advance America’s interests and play into the hands of competitors like China whose influence will grow as we merely shout from the sidelines.
Lest we forget, China emits more than the United States and the European Union combined, and they are not expected to reach peak emissions for another 10 years. How will we ever hold them accountable if we do not assert ourselves?
Part of President Biden’s energy platform focuses on nuclear energy and carbon capture technology, areas in the energy industry with bipartisan support at home and market opportunities abroad. We ought to latch onto what unifies us and promulgate it to the world.
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If the right steps are taken, rejoining the Paris Climate Accord could be a unifying moment and a chance for us to lead with a smart, America First energy agenda.
But we must rethink our approach to the Accord. President Obama’s pledge when we first joined Paris was unattainable and punitive, penalizing the industries and jobs we rely on. Rather than threatening to harm American workers, President Biden should rework America’s pledge to Paris with achievable goals and commit to investing domestically in what America does best: innovate!
American entrepreneurship has continually refined energy development and consumption, reducing our environmental impact and increasing efficiency.
We are a model for the world, but if we discard their ingenuity or overregulate them, we risk losing the innovators who can solve the challenges the accord faces.
North Dakota is an excellent example. We are a major energy producer, but we are also at the forefront of energy innovation. And because of that, we have maintained a clean and sustainable environment without sacrificing production.
If the Paris Accord reflected more of North Dakota’s ethos, the nation and the world would be better off.
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Rejoining Paris will only work if we defend America’s energy interests.
One obvious way to do so is to support sources of energy that are both reliable and low-emission, ones that fulfill our commitment to improving our climate while keeping the lights on for our constituents.
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One example with bipartisan backing is carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) technology. By supporting ideas such as the creation and development of CCUS technology, we can ensure reliable fuels like clean coal, oil, and gas play a major part in our global energy strategy while keeping emissions in check.
We should also use the agreement to reinvigorate America’s leadership in nuclear energy.
The appeal is obvious: nuclear is a reliable and emission-free source of energy with a global market. But our shrinking nuclear industry is also a national defense problem. Energy security is national security, and we should follow the National Defense Strategy’s call to embrace a whole-of-government approach to strategic competition.
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The opportunities are already there. Just last year, Poland signed an $18 billion deal to purchase nuclear technology from us.
In the 116th Congress, I led the effort to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, which included prioritizing clean energy projects.
Let’s expand that and invest in our nuclear fleet to make sure we are sharing the safest, most advanced nuclear power with a world eager to receive it. I’d rather invest in the peaceful tools of energy than the weapons of war.
President Biden needs to use Paris to level the playing field through increased transparency in global energy markets.
We recently saw France’s Engie back out of a deal with a U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) company while maintaining Russian natural gas imports even though, according to U.S. experts, Russian natural gas shipped to Europe by pipeline has 41 percent higher emissions than American LNG. Our innovators can’t win if the deck is stacked against them.
To be clear, while I urged President Trump to stay in the Paris Climate Accord, I understood his concerns.
As it stood, the deal was bad for America. Those concerns are still well-founded, especially in light of President Biden’s open hostility to the fossil fuel industry. However, maintaining the status quo would mean we give up when we should be taking the lead. It’s time for us to get in the game.
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President Biden and leaders like former Secretary of State John Kerry have spoken about reasserting American leadership. There is no better way for them to start than by making the Paris Climate Accord better for the American people.
The Biden administration should do this the right way, and I stand ready -- not to obstruct in order to score partisan political points -- but to help advance America’s energy interests on the world stage.
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