OPINION: Paying the price for climate extremism

If you’re an Alaskan, particularly one who belongs to a vulnerable population, you should be alarmed at Kay Brown’s recent piece in this paper, and her desire to slam the door on the Alaska energy projects that offer great hope for our state.

Ms. Brown’s attack on Alaska’s oil and gas workforce reflects an ostrich approach to global energy realities. She wants you to believe that stopping an oil or gas project in Alaska would mean the international need for that energy will simply evaporate. That’s a fantasy. The reality, as acknowledged by federal permitting authorities, is that energy not produced in Alaska will be produced elsewhere — often in a place with dirtier fuel, higher emissions, lower worker protections and lax enforcement reign supreme.

Eco-extremists such as Ms. Brown are content to force Alaskans — already suffering from exceptionally high energy costs and challenges most Americans would never dream of today — to continue those in pursuit of her radical and unrealistic political agenda. Federally approved projects like Alaska LNG, which has withstood 10 years of intense, federal environmental scrutiny across two administrations, offer a sound solution. But rather than face reality, Ms. Brown wrote as though she has an emissions-free energy magic wand.

Meanwhile, nations like China and India voraciously accelerate consumption of cheap, and even “dirty” energy. Reuters reports, “In the new fiscal year that began April 1, Indian power plants are expected to burn about 8% more coal.” Bloomberg notes that, “China Stands Almost Alone in Expanding Its Coal Power Fleet,” accounting for 72% of the world’s future projects. China turns on an average of two coal plants a week! They care nothing about the so-called “climate crisis,” so why isn’t Ms. Brown attacking them instead of her fellow Alaskans?

Alaska energy projects are a powerful antidote to the heavy pollution coming from nations like China and India. By replacing high-emissions energy supply chains in Asia with natural gas from Alaska, we can stop up to 2.3 billion tons of carbon emissions over the next 30 years, according to an analysis utilizing U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory methodology conducted for the state.

Our allies in Asia are desperate for responsibly produced U.S. energy. Like friendly nations in Europe, they are disgusted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and fearful of the consequences of continued reliance on Russian oil and gas. But these needs aren’t compatible with Ms. Brown’s agenda. Energy oligarchs living in nations opposed to U.S. interests — such as Russia — couldn’t be happier with her commentary. Vladimir Putin is laughing all the way to the bank.

Reliance on renewable energy ill-suited for Alaska’s vast distances, rugged geography and unforgiving climate is dangerous policy. Even a more realistic all-of-the-above oil, gas, wind, solar, nuclear and tidal energy approach needs to reflect the social and climate costs of foreign mining to produce the minerals necessary for renewable energy infrastructure. Many of these minerals originate in nations with few — if any — of the labor or environmental protections found in abundance in Alaska. There’s no such thing as cost-free energy.

Alaska energy is produced with the toughest permitting, compliance and enforcement standards anywhere in the world. Willow and Alaska LNG will do more to strengthen and rebuild the Alaskan economy for generations, offering Alaskan families career-length economic security and self-sufficiency.

Rather than lecturing President Joe Biden about authorizing Alaska energy projects, if Ms. Brown honestly and truly cares about Alaska and our climate, she should be cheering him on and advocating for more. No one does it better than we do in Alaska.

Rick Whitbeck is the Alaska State Director for Power The Future, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs and opportunities. Contact him at Rick@PowerTheFuture.com and follow him on Twitter @PTFAlaska.

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