A few months ago, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing focused on the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) malign influence in the realm of U.S. energy policy.
According to Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, one of the expert witnesses, “It is evident that China’s asymmetric warfare against the United States extends to our nation’s courtrooms and state legislatures. The CCP plainly has a strategy of driving the United States away from domestic energy sources and increasing U.S. dependence on sources that rely on a Chinese supply of solar panels, electric vehicle batteries, and other technologies.”
As Kobach points out, the Chinese Communist Party has virtually cornered the global market in terms of the components needed to build electric vehicles, solar panels, windmills, and other so-called green technologies. Therefore, as Kobach argues, the CCP has a vested interest in driving the energy debate in America against domestic energy production and toward mass importation of Chinese-made renewable energy products.
At the hearing, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), said, “We’re witnessing right now a systematic campaign against American energy. There is a coordinated assault by the radical left backed and paid for by the Chinese Communist Party.”
While this might sound like a conspiracy theory, Cruz presented compelling evidence to support his claim that China is bankrolling left-wing climate alarmism in the United States.
Exhibit A in Cruz’s case is a little-known environmental group with strong ties to the CCP: Energy Foundation China (EFC).
“The Energy Foundation is a committed partner in the global effort to address one of the greatest threats facing our world -- climate change -- by accelerating the sustainable energy transition. Headquartered in the United States, The Energy Foundation is an independent grantmaking charitable organization that provides funding for research and capacity building related to climate change and China,” the EFC notes on its website.
In truth, the EFC does much more. According to a 36-page detailed expose, the EFC “has emerged as a pivotal actor in the global climate policy landscape. Over the past decade, the Foundation has leveraged significant financial resources to fund research, advocacy, and policy development aimed at accelerating the transition to ‘green’ energy sources in the U.S. This transition has made America dependent upon China. The foundation’s funding of U.S.-based climate advocacy groups and research institutions directly correlates with policy shifts that impact U.S. energy independence and economic competitiveness. Energy Foundation China stands at the intersection of philanthropy, policy advocacy, and CCP-influence operations, wielding substantial power that is being used to advance policies that undermine American resilience and strengthen the Communist China’s position.”
Over the years, the EFC has provided vast sums of money to several U.S. climate alarmist groups and has entrenched itself in America’s institutions of higher learning.
Moreover, it has “released multiple reports on U.S. cities and municipalities, analyzing their carbon footprints and making climate policy recommendations for them to implement” and serves as a “conduit for coordination on climate policies between Chinese and American officials.”
In recent years, the EFC has made successful inroads in state governments throughout the nation as well as the federal government. Meanwhile, as Kobach said, it has also become a catalyst for lawsuits intended to punish U.S. oil and gas companies.
The Chinese Communist Party has no business lecturing the American people or our leaders when it comes to energy policy.
For far too long, the CCP has used climate alarmism to their distinct advantage. The United States should play hardball with China and not allow CCP-aligned entities to sow domestic discord and doubt.
China wants to handicap the United States at the dawn of the AI age by restricting American access to abundant, affordable, and reliable energy.
It sure would be stupid if we keep letting the CCP undermine sound U.S. energy policy given that China will be our chief adversary in the forthcoming AI arms race.
Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.
Image: Kenueone