Barb Van Andel-Gaby Chairman of Heritage Foundation - Economy | Official Website
The Heritage Foundation released the third pillar of its year-long project, “Chinese Handcuffs: China’s Immobilizing Trap on U.S. Energy, Security, and Prosperity.” The four-part series examines the Chinese Communist Party’s strategy to control green energy production and critical mineral inputs, as well as how environmentalists enable the CCP's climate change agenda. According to Heritage, current Biden-Harris policies bolster the CCP while undermining America's energy dominance achieved over the last decade through increased oil and natural gas production.
The third report in the series is titled “How the Forced Energy Transition and Reliance on China Will Harm America.” It claims that continuing green energy policies for another four years would cost the nation at least $1 trillion through IRA subsidies and high energy costs, reducing global temperatures by only two-tenths of one degree Celsius by 2100.
Heritage Vice President for National Security and Foreign Policy Victoria Coates commented:
“The Biden-Harris administration has been on a three-and-a-half-year campaign to surrender U.S. energy security to the CCP. If the Vice President gets another four years, there is no question that she will double down on this dangerous track record, which prioritizes aspirational progressive climate policies over rising to the challenge from China."
“This report provides a chilling snapshot of what is coming for Americans regarding energy policy if Vice President Harris continues implementing her agenda.”
Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Heritage’s Director of the Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment and co-author of the report, added:
“Vice President Harris is on record as opposing fracking, a technology which has driven down the price of natural gas, turned America into an oil and gas exporter, created millions of jobs, and raised economic growth. The Biden-Harris administration’s push for renewable energies and reducing domestic energy production would place a vital component of America’s economy into the hands of its top adversary—China.
“China now maintains significant advantages over the United States in production of renewables and electric vehicles. Mandating these technologies reduces jobs for American workers slows the U.S. economy and compromises our national security.”
Key findings from Heritage's report include:
- China controls 38% of global rare earth elements, 80% of solar component production, 85% of global battery production, and 80% of cobalt refining capacity.
- The Biden-Harris administration has restricted access to critical minerals in the United States with stringent regulations blocking at least five significant mines over two years.
- China's Electric Vehicle (EV) market is heavily subsidized; it received $28 billion between 2009-2020 with plans for an additional $72 billion between 2023-2026.
- While promoting renewables abroad, China continues expanding its fossil fuel sector by permitting or beginning construction on more than two coal power plants per week.
- China's government artificially sets prices and production targets creating cost advantages due to disproportionately low wages linked to forced labor.
Heritage concludes that restoring U.S. energy independence requires removing mandates and subsidies for renewable technologies while allowing American companies to develop domestic critical minerals necessary for production.
