The Heritage Foundation released a report titled “Chinese Handcuffs: Don’t Allow the U.S. Military to Be Hooked on Green Energy from China.” The report critiques the Biden Administration’s green energy agenda, arguing it increases U.S. military dependence on China's energy sector while neglecting domestic natural resource development, thereby compromising military readiness and national safety.

This publication is part of The Heritage Foundation’s four-part “Chinese Handcuffs” series, which examines the Chinese Communist Party's strategy to dominate green energy sources and its implications for U.S. strategic interests.

Brent Sadler, Senior Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Allison Center for National Security and author of the report, stated: "Energy security is national security. The Biden Administration and political Left’s transition to green energies forces the United States to become reliant on its top adversary. This type of dependence is preposterous—and would prove disastrous in the event of a conflict with China."

Sadler emphasized the need for a self-reliant energy strategy that prioritizes domestic resources such as natural gas, oil, and coal, along with improved oil refineries. He highlighted concerns over U.S. reliance on Chinese energy in potential military confrontations and proposed solutions to bolster American energy independence.

Key points from the report include:

- Shifting the Defense Department's 170,000 non-tactical vehicle fleet to electric vehicles remains a long-term goal that does not address current reliance on commercial logistics.

- Heavy reliance on foreign sources, poor policy choices, and constrained fuel transport could expose the U.S. military to localized fuel shortages and economic coercion by China.

- In a conflict where China might disrupt U.S. domestic fuel transport through cyber means or other tactics, locations of federal Strategic Petroleum Reserves could be isolated from critical areas.

- American industry should be freed from Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) distractions; loosening restrictions imposed by the Jones Act could enhance energy security.

Recommendations include ensuring secure and readily available military energy supplies for prolonged conflicts by rethinking Strategic Petroleum Reserve management, building refineries domestically, tapping into vast local reserves, strengthening trade relationships with allies, among other measures.