Energy
President Trump Should Rethink a Diesel Export Ban
With diesel at record highs, there is a strong political temptation to look for levers to bring prices down. Last week, Politico reported that the administration was drafting…
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David Kemp
StaffResearch Fellow, Climate and Energy Policy · C3 Solutions
David Kemp is a research fellow at C3 Solutions, where he studies and writes about energy and climate policy. His work examines how public policy and market incentives shape energy and environmental outcomes.
Latest essays
Energy
The U.S.-China Summit Is a Chance to Reopen Minerals Trade
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Washington today for a three-day state visit. Export controls will be a central focus of his meeting with President Trump. Two moratoriums,…
Energy
Mining Permitting Reform Is a Start, but Not a Substitute for a Durable Fix
The Protecting Domestic Mining Act (H.R. 1501) just passed the House by a 218–201 vote, with seven Democrats crossing the aisle. The bill, which now heads to the Senate, makes mining and mineral processing eligible for expedited permitting under Title 41 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (known as FAST-41) and blocks a Biden-era proposal that would have limited that eligibility to "critical" minerals.
Energy
A Measured Response on Critical Minerals: Reflections from a Recent Roundtable
Before instituting sweeping policies that risk creating costs and distortions worse than the supply disruptions and Chinese dependence they aim to solve, Washington needs to weigh the benefits of intervention against its costs.
Energy
Federal Critical Minerals Investments Need a Cost-Benefit Test
The risks posed by this concentration are worth taking seriously. The problem is that these tools may force taxpayers to take on unnecessary risk—leaving them stuck with the bill if the companies fail—without addressing the underlying problem.
Energy
Why States Should Reconsider Renewable Portfolio Standards
Across state capitals and in Washington, policymakers are scrambling to address voters’ alarm over electricity bills. The Trump administration is unwinding major climate regulations, Democrats are focusing more on affordability concerns than climate change, and governors are quietly paring back clean energy subsidies and emissions mandates they championed only a few years ago. Climate policies are starting to bite, and the political strategy that helped enact them, downplaying costs and obscuring tradeoffs, is becoming harder to sustain as ratepayers see the impact on their bills.
Energy
Before a Critical Minerals Price Floor, Remove Self-Imposed Barriers
Trade tensions between the U.S. and China continue to escalate, and rare earths remain a central pawn, despite an apparent agreement reached last month, in which China would address U.S. concerns over shortages of rare earths and other critical minerals. Earlier this week, China added 10 companies to its export control list, banning exports of dual-use rare earths to firms it says are tied to the U.S. military. The move was a response to Washington’s decision earlier this month to add new companies, including large Chinese firms such as Alibaba and Baidu, to a list of entities it says assist the Chinese military, a designation that restricts their access to U.S. technology and trade.
Energy
A Deal to End the Iran War Won’t End High Oil Prices Overnight
Yesterday, the United States and Iran signed an agreement to end the war. The 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) includes an immediate and permanent end to military operations, the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade, and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. It is a preliminary deal, not a final settlement, and sets a maximum 60-day deadline to negotiate a final agreement.
Energy
Trade Barriers Threaten Critical Minerals Policy
Last week, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, known as the Quad and consisting of the United States, India, Japan, and Australia, met in New Delhi and hammered out, among other things, a Quad Critical Minerals Initiative Framework.
Policy
Energy Innovation Is Worth Funding, If It’s Well Targeted
This month, C3 Solutions Action signed on to a bipartisan coalition letter calling for steady, robust federal funding for energy research, development, and demonstration. Addressed to the leadership of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, the letter highlights the United States’ long history of energy innovation and the importance of maintaining that leadership.
Energy
Critical Minerals Policy Needs Clear Guardrails
Critical minerals have become a marquee issue in Washington over the past several years, driven by growing concern that the United States and its allies depend too heavily on China for materials that are indispensable to both the civilian economy and the defense industry.
Economics
Blocking Data Centers Won’t Make Electricity Cheaper
Growing opposition to data centers is beginning to expose divides in both parties. Last week, POLITICO reported that progressive challengers in battleground House primaries in Tennessee, Indiana, Virginia, and Maine are backing a national moratorium on datacenter construction.