Published
June 26, 2017
Over the last decade, America’s energy landscape has changed dramatically. Our nation has gone from energy scarcity and heavy reliance on foreign—and sometimes hostile—sources for fuel to energy abundance and exporting American resources around the world. Ten years ago, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce launched the Institute for 21st Century Energy to help unify energy stakeholders and policymakers behind a strategy to make America’s supply of fuel and power more accessible, affordable, and stable while protecting national security and the environment.
The Institute has had a seat at the table for every important debate on energy policy over the past decade. It has fought against misguided regulations, run effective policy campaigns, and mobilized our members at every level. It has worked on behalf of the entire industry, moving all forms of energy forward.
Most important, the Institute has helped empower America’s private sector energy innovators. Together those innovators have driven an American energy revolution. The rise of fracking has allowed us to access hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of shale oil that was previously unreachable and has supported well over a million jobs. Other innovations have bolstered the production of renewable energies such as wind, solar, and nuclear power. Still others have changed how energy is transported and used.
The Institute has also provided support to government leaders as they have advanced major energy reforms this year. President Trump has declared the promotion of U.S. energy resources a strategic national objective, ordered a review of all energy regulations, and reversed multiple misguided Obama-era policies restricting energy development. These actions will unleash domestic production and support large-scale economic growth and job creation.
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary, the Chamber has relaunched our energy institute as the Global Energy Institute. As it enters its second decade, the Institute will mobilize the Chamber’s national network of state and local partners to help advance energy in their communities. It will also strengthen our nation’s ability to export resources and energy technologies around the globe. These advances will bolster prosperity, strengthen national security, and create a cleaner and more efficient future for the world.
America’s energy renaissance has transformed our economy and our country and now it will change the world. Our nation’s natural resources must continue to be converted not only into energy but into jobs, growth, and prosperity for millions of people here and across the globe. Through the Global Energy Institute, the Chamber looks forward to shaping energy policy to create a better and brighter future.
About the authors
Thomas J. Donohue
Thomas J. Donohue is advisor and former chief executive officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
