Coffee With Karen: Indispensable American Energy
AGA President and CEO Karen Harbert sat down over coffee to discuss her career, energy policy, and the implications for today’s energy environment. The following is Part 2 in a multi-part conversation with AGA’s President and CEO Karen Harbert.
Adam Kay: “Energy has come to dominate the conversation not just in America but also globally. Before you joined the Department of Energy, you were heavily involved in international development. What can you tell us about that and how the lessons learned there inform your outlook today?”
Karen Harbert: “As Americans, it’s easy to forget how many of the things we take for granted are still uncommon luxuries in much of the world. Reliable heating and air conditioning, reliable energy for lights and appliances, are all things that are all too uncommon globally. My time in Latin America drove home a simple lesson for me: energy is the foundation of prosperity and better lives. Imagine being a girl in a small rural town in Latin America. Hopefully you get to go to school during the day – but without electric lights in your home, how do you study at night, and how far do you fall behind if you can’t? If your village lacks modern utilities, how much of your time is spent collecting firewood to cook with or water to drink and use for cooking and cleaning?
Now imagine the difference that energy makes. That girl has light in her home to study by, and possibly even air conditioning so she has an easier time focusing on her studies. Her family has a stove that works with the turn of a knob, freeing up the hours she had to spend collecting wood to cook with. With reliable energy, water utilities can follow, keeping her safer from diseases. Energy unlocks the world for her. Affordable and reliable energy is the firm ground on which better lives and better economies are built.
AK: Much of today’s policy debate on international energy development centers around American LNG. What insights can you share on the value of American LNG globally, and how we can maximize the benefits it brings?
KH: Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine made it clear to Europe that Russian natural gas was a double-edged sword – and he put it to use as an economic weapon when Europe coordinated sanctions against him. Europe needs a reliable supplier of energy, and I believe the U.S. can be that supplier.
The stakes are high. Energy prices in Europe spiked dramatically during the year after the invasion started. Since then, they’ve fallen by almost 90% from their height thanks in large part to American LNG. However, Europe remains dependent in significant part on Russian natural gas even today and therefore remains vulnerable to Russian economic coercion. Even though prices have fallen, they remain high enough to cause significant damage to the European industrial economy, with factory closures and falling industrial output putting European security at risk. To restore security, Europe needs a reliable source of energy to help bring costs down, ensure reliability in their energy system, and put them back on the firm footing they need for industrial expansion. American natural gas is the key to that.
It isn’t just Europe that will benefit from American energy. As a low-cost, low-emissions producer of natural gas, we can help the developing world climb the economic ladder while lowering their own greenhouse gas emissions. All of this is a tremendous win-win for the American economy and our partners abroad. From a moral, a strategic, and a financial perspective, ensuring the world can benefit from American natural gas is the right move for everyone.
AK: Karen, that seems like a great note to end on. Thank you again for your time and insights!
KH: Adam, always happy to chat about energy.