The Ukraine invasion has led policymakers to consider how the U.S. and its allies could reduce demand for Russian fossil fuels and increase energy security. Increasing domestic oil production is not a short-term solution as it will take years to significantly ramp up production. Fortunately, new Energy Policy Simulator modeling finds the climate and clean energy provisions currently under consideration in the U.S. Congress would reduce annual U.S. oil consumption by 180 million barrels per year by 2030, or roughly twice current U.S. imports of Russian oil, with half of the reductions achieved by 2025. Clean energy deployment and electrification of buildings and industry would similarly reduce U.S natural gas consumption by 4.7 trillion cubic feet per year by 2030, or roughly equal to 85 percent of the EU’s 5.5 trillion cubic feet of imported Russian natural gas in 2021. These climate provisions would also help cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by up to 1.2 gigatons in 2030.
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