Projects - Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics
The U.S. Foreign Policy for Clean Energy Taskforce
Projects - Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics
The U.S. Foreign Policy for Clean Energy Taskforce
About the Project

Clean energy and associated products are increasingly essential for the security and prosperity of the United States. But if the United States is to decarbonize its own economy and do its part to cut global emissions to net zero, it will have to effect change beyond its borders.

This project brings together a high-level, transpartisan taskforce of past and future U.S. foreign policymakers to explore how the U.S. government can use its financial, trade, regulatory, and diplomatic tools to strengthen clean energy supply chains around the world. Through technical analysis of supply chains for key energy technologies and transition minerals, engagement with active policymakers, and the publication of research and convening of public events, the group aims to develop a roadmap for the future of U.S. foreign policy for clean energy.

Programs

Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics

The Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics Program explores how climate change and the responses to it are changing international politics, global governance, and world security. Our work covers topics from the geopolitical implications of decarbonization and environmental breakdown to the challenge of building out clean energy supply chains, alternative protein options, and other challenges of a warming planet.

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All work from The U.S. Foreign Policy for Clean Energy Taskforce

11 Results
Ford Motor Company's electric F-150 Lightning on the production line at their Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan on September 8, 2022.
paper
Catching Up or Leaping Ahead? How Energy Innovation Can Secure U.S. Industrial Stature in a Net-Zero World

Chinese companies are dominating the production of technologies essential for a clean energy future. The United States should embrace innovation to preserve its future energy security.

· September 19, 2024
wind farm
article
Managing the Energy Transition: A Place-Based Approach

Communities will soon be hammered by climate impacts or hollowed out by declining consumer demand. U.S. policymakers need to make the energy transition equitable.

· August 6, 2024
commentary
The New U.S. Clean Tech Tariffs Will Have Global Impacts

The tariffs’ full effects on U.S. emissions won’t be clear for years, but what’s certain is that China will respond.

· May 16, 2024
commentary
How the AGOA Reauthorization Process Could Help Diversify U.S. Critical Mineral Supplies

The ongoing African Growth and Opportunity Act reauthorization process could facilitate the expansion of U.S.-Africa trade in critical minerals.

· April 30, 2024
article
Getting Real: How the United States Can Deliver on Its Commitment to African Infrastructure

Ambitious U.S. rhetoric and commitment to African infrastructure requires follow-through. By taking a few concrete steps, the United States can make real progress on this worthy goal.

· April 23, 2024
article
The U.S. Military and NATO Face Serious Risks of Mineral Shortages

NATO militaries could face shortages of critical minerals, especially if U.S.-China tensions escalate. Stockpiling could prepare NATO for a crisis.

  • Gregory Wischer
· February 12, 2024
article
Five Trends in Decarbonization That Are Shaping Global Politics

These trends, including the rise of China as an electric vehicle exporter and the recent innovations in battery chemistry, could emerge as drivers of change over the next decade.

  • Nat Bullard
· November 9, 2023
paper
Building a Net-Zero World: How U.S. Finance Can Strengthen Clean Energy Manufacturing Abroad

With strategic use of its development finance tools, the United States can promote clean energy manufacturing outside of China and help partner countries in the Global South become more than sources of raw materials.

· September 5, 2023
commentary
The Biden Administration’s New Vision for Global Trade and Investment

Janet Yellen and Jake Sullivan have recently argued that pursuing industrial policy at home is compatible with an open and fair global economic order.

· May 22, 2023
article
Friendshoring Critical Minerals: What Could the U.S. and Its Partners Produce?

Given existing reserves, it is possible for the United States and its key democratic partners to significantly friendshore the production of critical minerals. However, it would require an unprecedented buildout of the mining industry to achieve clean energy targets for 2030.

· May 3, 2023