Debate: Powering the Future vs. Propping up the Past

A statement by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) arguing against the continued subsidization of fossil fuels and the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, advocating instead for a transition to competitive renewable energy technologies to ensure long-term energy security and economic competitiveness.

• U.S. government subsidies for fossil fuels have significantly exceeded those for renewable energy over several decades. Between 2002 and 2008, fossil fuel subsidies were approximately $72 billion, compared to $29 billion for renewable energy sources, including corn ethanol.
• Solar PV installed costs in the U.S. saw a 43% decline in real 2010 dollars between 1998 and 2010, dropping from $11.00 per watt to $6.20 per watt. This trend supports the transition to a cleaner energy economy as wind and solar become competitive without subsidies.
• The U.S. is competing in a global clean energy market valued at an estimated $240 billion annually. Other nations are aggressively supporting their sectors, such as China providing $30 billion in financing to its solar companies in the previous year.
• Air pollution from fossil fuel-based electricity generation creates significant externality costs for the U.S. economy, estimated conservatively at $63 billion annually, with over $53 billion of those damages resulting from coal generation.
• The Keystone XL pipeline, intended to transport oil from Canadian tar sands, is viewed as a 'red herring' for national energy security because it maintains oil dependence for transport and does not support the electricity system, which currently uses less than 2% oil.

APA

Newcomb, J., & Lacy, V. (2011). Debate: Powering the Future vs. Propping up the Past. RMI. https://rmi.org/resources/debate_powering_the_future_vs_propping_up_the_past/

Chicago

Newcomb, James, and Virginia Lacy. Debate: Powering the Future vs. Propping up the Past. RMI, 2011. https://rmi.org/resources/debate_powering_the_future_vs_propping_up_the_past/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Newcomb |first1=James |last2=Lacy |first2=Virginia |title=Debate: Powering the Future vs. Propping up the Past |publisher=RMI |date=8 November 2011 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/debate_powering_the_future_vs_propping_up_the_past/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{newcomb2011debate, author = {Newcomb, James and Lacy, Virginia}, title = {{Debate: Powering the Future vs. Propping up the Past}}, publisher = {RMI}, year = {2011}, month = nov, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/debate_powering_the_future_vs_propping_up_the_past/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }