The Republican policy task force on climate in the US House prepares for a potential Republican majority following the November elections. The goal is to have a plan ready.

Major themes include energy and environment, energy independence, lower costs, faster permitting, cleaner, and American produced. The US is the most efficient producer in the world. A product produced in China generates three times the emissions as the same product produced in the US. The US has reduced more GHG emissions since 2005 than the next five reducers in the world. A similar analysis applies to natural gas that comes from Russia compared to US natural gas. If lower GHG emissions are desired, production in the US should be optimized. That also means removal of obstacles to US production. Permitting should be made easier. American resources should be unlocked to provide security at home as well as abroad. Reliance on China needs to be reduced. China controls 90% of rare earth minerals needed for renewable energy systems. Replacing OPEC with China is not the way to solve our energy problems. Yet opening a new mine in the US is nearly impossible. Innovation will be critical to reducing costs (and thus emissions). That also requires changes to the permitting system. This will be required across the board. We need to beat Russia and China. We need to make ourselves more competitive. Conservation technologies are also needed (for example in farming and forest management). Finally, a more resilient society is needed. Spending money on mitigation prior to a disaster will pay in reduced cost and resiliency going forward.

• Marty Hall, Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES)