If not for the energy renaissance of the last decade, which launched the United States into an era of energy abundance driven largely by the advent of fracking, the nation would look very different, according to a report issued Thursday by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy. Had there been no energy renaissance, the report says, 4.3 billion jobs would not have been created, the economy would be $500 billion smaller today, electricity prices would be higher, and motor fuels would cost more.
The chamber analyzed “incremental economic impacts across the value chain and the residential and industrial impacts spurred on by lower energy prices,” to come to its conclusion.
Regardless, some policymakers are seeking to undo the progress made toward energy security, according to the chamber. “[M]any policymakers, despite the benefits, seek to restrict or even ban the deployment of the pioneering technologies that enabled the revolution to take hold in the first place,” the report says, noting calls from the left for a ban on hydraulic fracturing.
The report notes other “troublesome policies” such as a push by the left to restrict the development of energy resources on federal lands, and tax policies aimed unfavorable to the energy industry. “Had these policies been adopted in the past, there would be no energy renaissance today. If they are adopted in the future, the energy revolution that has provided so many benefits to so many Americans will never realize its full potential,” the report says.
