151
In ten years, we can reduce our dependence so that we no longer have to import oil from the
Middle East or Venezuela. Number one, we need to expand domestic production and that
means telling the oil companies the 68 million acres that they currently have leased that
they’re not drilling: use them or lose them. (www.ontheissues.org 2016)
Hillary Clinton also played an important role in US policy toward the Caspian
Sea and US energy policy as Secretary of State. She supported Obama’s green
economy policy and climate-oriented energy policy with a shared vision on the
importance of sustainability and climate issues on the international policy agenda:
We have an interest in promoting new technologies and sources of energy—especially
including renewables— to reduce pollution; to diversify the global energy supply; to create
jobs; and to address the very real threat of climate change. (www.thinkprogress.org 2015)
She also emphasized the role of the State Department’s Energy Bureau in US
foreign and energy policy toward world energy, stating that:
In the past, the State Department obviously conducted energy-related diplomacy… But we
did not have a team of experts dedicated full-time to thinking creatively about how we can
solve challenges and seize opportunities, and now we do… That in and of itself is a signal
of a broader commitment by the United States to lead in shaping the global energy future.
(www.thinkprogress.org 2015)
According to Clinton, energy was at the heart of US foreign policy for three main
reasons:
First, it rests at the core of geopolitics, because fundamentally, energy is an issue of wealth
and power, which means they can be both a source of conflict and cooperation. Second,
energy is essential to how we will power our economy and manage our environment in the
21st century. And third, energy is key to economic development and political stability. And
we have an interest in helping the 1.3 billion people worldwide who don't have access to
energy. (www.thinkprogress.org 2015)
Under Obama, shale oil and gas enabled the US to support its own energy needs
for the first time in history, to the degree which it even developed its export capacities to a significant degree, throwing off dependence on Saudi Arabia and the
GCC. However, with events in the Middle East affecting global oil prices to a significant degree, total independence from at least the machinations of the global
market could not be envisioned (http://www.aljazeera.com.tr/gorus/tanap-21yuzyilin-projesi 2017). Nevertheless, a clear shift in focus is visible, which reflected
in military spending. Despite the maintenance of bases and fleets around the world,
the Pentagon’s budget was curtailed, to the alarm of policymakers who wondered at
the price paid by American servicemen in areas now being accessed by China and
other emerging global players (www.aljazeera.com.tr 2017).
Energy Diplomacy in the Department of State
There are several suggestions that energy diplomacy in the State Department was
“invented” in response to international competition for energy resources. However,
our interviews show more precisely that the Office of Energy Resources has been
Energy Diplomacy in the Department of State
In ten years, we can reduce our dependence so that we no longer have to import oil from the
Middle East or Venezuela. Number one, we need to expand domestic production and that
means telling the oil companies the 68 million acres that they currently have leased that
they’re not drilling: use them or lose them. (www.ontheissues.org 2016)
Hillary Clinton also played an important role in US policy toward the Caspian
Sea and US energy policy as Secretary of State. She supported Obama’s green
economy policy and climate-oriented energy policy with a shared vision on the
importance of sustainability and climate issues on the international policy agenda:
We have an interest in promoting new technologies and sources of energy—especially
including renewables— to reduce pollution; to diversify the global energy supply; to create
jobs; and to address the very real threat of climate change. (www.thinkprogress.org 2015)
She also emphasized the role of the State Department’s Energy Bureau in US
foreign and energy policy toward world energy, stating that:
In the past, the State Department obviously conducted energy-related diplomacy… But we
did not have a team of experts dedicated full-time to thinking creatively about how we can
solve challenges and seize opportunities, and now we do… That in and of itself is a signal
of a broader commitment by the United States to lead in shaping the global energy future.
(www.thinkprogress.org 2015)
According to Clinton, energy was at the heart of US foreign policy for three main
reasons:
First, it rests at the core of geopolitics, because fundamentally, energy is an issue of wealth
and power, which means they can be both a source of conflict and cooperation. Second,
energy is essential to how we will power our economy and manage our environment in the
21st century. And third, energy is key to economic development and political stability. And
we have an interest in helping the 1.3 billion people worldwide who don't have access to
energy. (www.thinkprogress.org 2015)
Under Obama, shale oil and gas enabled the US to support its own energy needs
for the first time in history, to the degree which it even developed its export capacities to a significant degree, throwing off dependence on Saudi Arabia and the
GCC. However, with events in the Middle East affecting global oil prices to a significant degree, total independence from at least the machinations of the global
market could not be envisioned (http://www.aljazeera.com.tr/gorus/tanap-21yuzyilin-projesi 2017). Nevertheless, a clear shift in focus is visible, which reflected
in military spending. Despite the maintenance of bases and fleets around the world,
the Pentagon’s budget was curtailed, to the alarm of policymakers who wondered at
the price paid by American servicemen in areas now being accessed by China and
other emerging global players (www.aljazeera.com.tr 2017).
Energy Diplomacy in the Department of State
There are several suggestions that energy diplomacy in the State Department was
“invented” in response to international competition for energy resources. However,
our interviews show more precisely that the Office of Energy Resources has been
Energy Diplomacy in the Department of State