Five problems—and solutions—to make it actually work as a tool of great power competition.
Afreen Akhter
{
"authors": [
"Deborah Gordon",
"Shin-pei Tsay"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "SCP",
"programs": [
"Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"North America",
"United States"
],
"topics": [
"Climate Change"
]
}Source: Getty
Although Washington cannot stabilize global oil prices that are largely a result of external events over which the United States has little control, policymakers can make a difference in dampening the impact of volatile oil prices.
Source: Politico

The first step is to eliminate Big Oil subsidies and tax breaks, immediately. As evidenced by ExxonMobil’s posted first quarter profits of nearly $11 billion, the oil companies do not need hard-earned tax dollars to survive. The next step is for Congress to set an oil price floor — now, when gas prices are high — to spur ongoing innovation and promote alternatives to oil and autos. Seventy percent of oil consumed in the United States is for transportation, yet funding to upgrade our transportation system suffers from serious insolvency. A fixed, paltry 18.4 cents a gallon funds transportation whether the price of gas is $2 or $4 a gallon. So when oil prices rise, only Big Oil benefits.
It’s high time that we find other ways of fueling our mobility.
Former Director and Senior Fellow, Energy and Climate Program
Gordon was director of Carnegie’s Energy and Climate Program, where her research focuses on oil and climate change issues in North America and globally.
Former Nonresident Associate, Energy and Climate Program
Shin-pei Tsay was a nonresident associate in the Energy and Climate Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
Five problems—and solutions—to make it actually work as a tool of great power competition.
Afreen Akhter
Lebanon’s largest water reservoir is a house of many mansions when it comes to converging failures.
Camille Ammoun
The Russian leadership wants to avoid a dangerous precedent in which it is squeezed out of Iran by the United States and Israel—and left powerless to respond in any meaningful way.
Nikita Smagin
Afro-Iraqis experience political, economic, and social marginalization and discrimination, which exposes the poorest members of the community to the harsh realities of the region’s climate disaster.
Zeinab Shuker
Mitigating the repercussions of climate change in Kuwait is crucial for lessening economic disparities and achieving social justice.
Courtney Freer