A Golden Age of American Energy

President Trump’s first act after taking the oath of office for the second time was to declare that “the golden age of America begins right now.” Nothing will be more critical to fulfilling that promise than his agenda to achieve American energy dominance.

The National Energy Emergency

On his first day back in the Oval Office, President Trump declared a National Energy Emergency — a bold action with little precedent in our history. This declaration unlocked emergency authority for his cabinet secretaries to speed up the federal permitting process and ramp up energy production to unprecedented heights.

Energy is the master resource because it affects virtually every aspect of our lives — from the economy to our national security to our foreign policy. President Trump is right to make energy a focal point of his administration, since it will have downstream effects on all of his other policies.

Lowering the cost of energy is central, for instance, to President Trump’s goal of reducing inflation. President Trump has correctly identified the inflation crisis’ cause as a combination of “massive overspending and escalating energy prices.”

Americans endured the highest average gas prices in our history during the Biden administration. In 2022, the price of gas hit one all-time high after another, and real household incomes dropped. Instead of devoting itself to a consistent approach the Biden administration waffled — achieving record oil and natural gas production despite simultaneously introducing needless roadblocks that kept our full potential out of reach. 

The President has taken down the roadblocks

Now, the roadblocks are down, and our energy workers can deliver more than ever. Lower energy costs will lower household expenses and prices across the rest of our economy, from eggs to cars to lumber. Increased energy production will be necessary to support President Trump’s plans for a $500 billion investment in artificial intelligence, which is incredibly energy-intensive. 

Affordable energy will also help President Trump achieve his promise of restoring American manufacturing because it will reduce the cost of making things here rather than overseas. 

The administration seems to understand this well: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has even expressed openness to making China pay a financial penalty for its pollution. A complete disregard for the environment has kept the Chinese Communist Party’s energy costs artificially low. After all, one of the only ways that China could undercut American manufacturers on costs over the last 20 years is because they rely upon cheaper, dirtier fuels — and use them less cleanly and safely than we do. China emits more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than the entire developed world combined. If China had lived up to American environmental standards, then the playing field would have been much more level, and China would have been much less able to steal our factories.

Toward energy dominance

A new age of American energy dominance will benefit our environment while continuing to grow this competitive advantage. While the left always seems to reflexively oppose any energy project besides wind or solar, the reality is that American energy is often much cleaner than the energy produced by our competitors. As new Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has put it, “When energy production is restricted in America, it doesn’t reduce demand; it just shifts production to countries like Russia, Venezuela, and Iran, whose autocratic leaders don’t care about the environment.” 

Vice President Vance made a similar point during his debate with Governor Walz: “We are the cleanest economy in the entire world. … So if we actually care about getting cleaner air and cleaner water, the best thing to do is to double down and invest in American workers and the American people.” The vice president is exactly right. Environmentalists should celebrate President Trump’s determination to produce more energy in America.

President Trump’s first days in office have been the most ambitious of any president in modern history. He is already delivering on many of his promises, such as strengthening the border and national security. But his most important efforts so far may be his energy agenda. A golden age of American energy will fuel the Trump golden age.

This article was originally published by RealClearEnergy and made available via RealClearWire.