Fact or Fiction?
6
We’re in a race with China, Russia, India and other big powers for oil
Not necessarily. Some experts warn that U.S. energy security is threatened by the growing appetite of China and other countries for resources to fuel their expansions. Others – including U.S. officials – say that is not the case, especially when it comes to oil and some other natural resources. As a 2012 report from the Brookings Institution points out, many do agree that the growing demand in Asia has shifted the global energy eastward, “giving increasing market power to emerging economies.” The recent discovery of unconventional oil and gas sources – such as the Canadian tar sands and the U.S. shale oil reserves – has accelerated that shift and as a result, the report continues, “rising energy demand in China and India has been accompanied by a wave of
strategic energy investments by those countries as they seek to maximize energy security.”
Cornell University energy experts Danielle Cohen and Jonathan Kirshner caution against interpreting this shift as a race for oil. Cohen and Kirshner attribute the outcry to “the cult of energy insecurity” — the belief that U.S. national security requires foreign policy measures to assure access to energy. The scholars instead argue that pricing plays the dominant role in dictating access to energy:
“The problem for the next few decades … is not that we will run out of oil. It is that we will probably have to pay exorbitant prices to get it. And no foreign policy will change that, though wise domestic policies might.” — From “Myth-Telling: The Cult of Energy Insecurity and China-US Relations” by Cohen and Kirshner.
- By Elizabeth Bunn