152
created for two main reasons. First, the highly ambitious Secretary of State, Hillary
Clinton and her key advisors, considered energy and climate change as key for the
United States, given the rapid realities of the market (domestic) and the change in
the US situation. Energy was another reason for the classical bureaucratic processes
in which some parts of the state felt that the tasks related to energy diplomacy were
not favorable due to the existing structures of the government and that changes in its
structure were necessary. That is why activities that were consistently pursued by
agencies such as Commerce and the International Office of the Department of
Energy were already part of the new department at the Department of State (DoS).
But it should be noted that the United States Department of State remains the United
States Department of Commerce, and the Department of Commerce continues to
make its contribution to the commercial agency. In the State Department, in addition to thematic groups, there are geographic focus groups that sometimes create
common interests. Unparalleled evidence suggests that sometimes these different
groups work together, but the benefits and competitive ambitions can go on (Boersma
and Johnson 2018:13).
In turn, at the Department of State, “the Office of Energy Resources” continued
its development. The project was named as an “Initiative for the Development of
Gas Shale Gas (GSGI),” which was then renamed the UGTEP Program, and brought
technical expertise to policymakers around the world. The agenda of this initiative
expanded over time. Subsequently, Ambassador Carlos Pascal became the ambassador for energy diplomacy. The professional diplomat, Ambassador Pascual,
quickly expanded the focus of the project and turned to various designs, including
oil and gas, for renewable resources and efficiency. Amos Hochstein, the last special
envoy under President Obama, is very loud about European energy security and a
proposed pipeline from Russia to Germany, Nord Stream 2. At the end of the second
Obama administration, this office totaled about 100 diplomats in energy, and
throughout Paris talks the Special Envoy for Climate Change, Todd Stern, his successor, Jonathan Pressing, and their employees were also integrated into the office
(Boersma and Johnson 2018:13).
Over the past few decades, 23 offshore waters of the European Union have built
23 re-terminals to create a flow of natural gas to the continent. A brief look at how
they operate in recent years has shown that market actors, not politicians, are in the
driver’s seat. Depending on the availability of resources and competition from other
parts of the world, LNG imports into the European Union have been relatively modest in recent years, despite the political desire to supply (Boersma and Johnson
2018:16)
First, US diplomats have a relatively small impact on US resources—how many are generated and where they are sold—at the end of the day, determined by market participants,
based on price signals, and given a wide range of government regulations, none of them
directly connected to diplomacy. These deals may be associated with geopolitical benefits,
but it shows that these diplomatic successes are often a stretch. Second, government departments related to energy diplomacy, such as the Office of Energy Resources, were run by the
Trump government, the above dynamics from market realities mean that it has a relatively
limited impact. Diplomacy runs at different levels, and it is unlikely that certain groups are
necessary. (Boersma and Johnson 2018:20)
5 US Energy Diplomacy Under the Obama Administration
created for two main reasons. First, the highly ambitious Secretary of State, Hillary
Clinton and her key advisors, considered energy and climate change as key for the
United States, given the rapid realities of the market (domestic) and the change in
the US situation. Energy was another reason for the classical bureaucratic processes
in which some parts of the state felt that the tasks related to energy diplomacy were
not favorable due to the existing structures of the government and that changes in its
structure were necessary. That is why activities that were consistently pursued by
agencies such as Commerce and the International Office of the Department of
Energy were already part of the new department at the Department of State (DoS).
But it should be noted that the United States Department of State remains the United
States Department of Commerce, and the Department of Commerce continues to
make its contribution to the commercial agency. In the State Department, in addition to thematic groups, there are geographic focus groups that sometimes create
common interests. Unparalleled evidence suggests that sometimes these different
groups work together, but the benefits and competitive ambitions can go on (Boersma
and Johnson 2018:13).
In turn, at the Department of State, “the Office of Energy Resources” continued
its development. The project was named as an “Initiative for the Development of
Gas Shale Gas (GSGI),” which was then renamed the UGTEP Program, and brought
technical expertise to policymakers around the world. The agenda of this initiative
expanded over time. Subsequently, Ambassador Carlos Pascal became the ambassador for energy diplomacy. The professional diplomat, Ambassador Pascual,
quickly expanded the focus of the project and turned to various designs, including
oil and gas, for renewable resources and efficiency. Amos Hochstein, the last special
envoy under President Obama, is very loud about European energy security and a
proposed pipeline from Russia to Germany, Nord Stream 2. At the end of the second
Obama administration, this office totaled about 100 diplomats in energy, and
throughout Paris talks the Special Envoy for Climate Change, Todd Stern, his successor, Jonathan Pressing, and their employees were also integrated into the office
(Boersma and Johnson 2018:13).
Over the past few decades, 23 offshore waters of the European Union have built
23 re-terminals to create a flow of natural gas to the continent. A brief look at how
they operate in recent years has shown that market actors, not politicians, are in the
driver’s seat. Depending on the availability of resources and competition from other
parts of the world, LNG imports into the European Union have been relatively modest in recent years, despite the political desire to supply (Boersma and Johnson
2018:16)
First, US diplomats have a relatively small impact on US resources—how many are generated and where they are sold—at the end of the day, determined by market participants,
based on price signals, and given a wide range of government regulations, none of them
directly connected to diplomacy. These deals may be associated with geopolitical benefits,
but it shows that these diplomatic successes are often a stretch. Second, government departments related to energy diplomacy, such as the Office of Energy Resources, were run by the
Trump government, the above dynamics from market realities mean that it has a relatively
limited impact. Diplomacy runs at different levels, and it is unlikely that certain groups are
necessary. (Boersma and Johnson 2018:20)
5 US Energy Diplomacy Under the Obama Administration