Washington, DC – The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments has published its most recent report, Mind the Power Gap: The American Energy Arsenal and Chinese Insecurity, by Christopher Bassler and Ben Noon. The authors assess the security implications of the United States' energy portfolio in relation to China's efforts to expand its own energy assets and position itself as a producer of clean energy. While the U.S. energy resource base is not without vulnerabilities--which the authors discuss, along with potential solutions--they argue that the Chinese Communist Party's efforts to build a secure, robust energy sector have been comparatively uneven, as it continues to rely upon imported fossil fuels and suffers from numerous related environmental and public health consequences. The authors recommend greater leveraging of U.S. resources to reinforce and expand its alliances along with a scientific and public diplomacy effort to address China's role as the world's leader in greenhouse gas emissions.
On September 15, CSBA hosted a virtual event on Mind the Power Gap, featuring the authors and Gabriel Collins, the Baker Botts Fellow in Energy & Environmental Regulatory Affairs at Rice University’s Baker Institute. The event began at 1 PM with an introduction from Ambassador Eric Edelman, CSBA Counselor and host of the event. The authors offered their remarks on the report, followed by commentary from Gabriel Collins and a moderated Q&A session.