Energy and Resilience: Policy Briefs 2025

Executive Summary

This collection of policy briefs was written by fellows and scholars from the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Rooted in fundamental, data-driven research, the briefs span topics including infrastructure, trade, energy systems, technology, sustainability, and international cooperation. Each brief outlines practical strategies to strengthen U.S. resilience, energy and resource security, and global competitiveness in an evolving international energy landscape.

• A Strong Supply Chain Is the Circulatory System of a Healthy Economy | Edward M. Emmett 
  Stresses the need to modernize the interstate highway system, support appropriate fuels for freight, and expand intermodal transport to protect domestic supply chain efficiency. 
   
• Energy and Security – It’s Material | Michelle Michot Foss 
  Calls for streamlined permitting, stronger federal-state coordination, and R&D investment to secure critical materials and industrial competitiveness. 
   
• Technology Transition of the US Power Grid: Opportunities for Federal Engagement | Julie A. Cohn 
  Details how the rising demand for electricity and new energy technologies requires federal coordination to modernize and stabilize the grid. 
   
• Leading the Fight Against Global Energy Poverty Will Enhance American Security and Prosperity | Gabriel Collins 
  Expounds on opportunities the U.S. has to counter China and strengthen global alliances by improving access to reliable energy in developing regions. 
   
• Trilateral Recommendations for Pacific Energy and National Security | Henry Haggard 
  Focuses on the relationship between the U.S. and two of its critical allies in the Pacific, recommending trilateral U.S.-Japan–South Korea energy cooperation. 
   
• Hydrocarbons and Mineral Resources in the Western Hemisphere | Francisco J. Monaldi 
  Emphasizes the strategic role of Latin America in diversifying hydrocarbon and critical mineral supply chains, and the need for stable U.S. partnerships in the region to reduce geopolitical risk. 
   
• Building Barriers, Blocking Progress: Critical Minerals and Trade | Tilsa Oré Monago 
  Emphasizes a need for deepening relationships, arguing that restrictions on key imports risk undermining U.S. manufacturing and energy security. 
   
• Friction Among Friends: US Diplomatic and Energy Interests in the Persian Gulf | Jim Krane 
  Advises caution on Iran policy and emphasizes strategic engagement with Gulf countries to maintain regional stability while balancing Chinese influence. 
   
• Recalibrate Sustainability | Rachel A. Meidl 
  Calls for a rethinking of sustainability as a system-level objective that recognizes the trade-offs inherent in achieving economic, social, and environmental goals, all of which run deeply through supply chain resilience and long-term growth. 
   
• Climate Policy: A Balanced Path Forward | Peter R. Hartley 
  Outlines the missing role of resilience in current climate discourse and offers a path that provides benefits extending well beyond climate-related concerns. 
   
• ‘Capture’ Carbon-to-Value | Kenneth B. Medlock III 
  Argues for leveraging the full U.S. comparative advantage in hydrocarbons through advancing carbon-to-value pathways in agriculture, materials, and manufacturing, which could pave the way for long-term economic prosperity. 
   
• Not So Fast: Efficient New Technology Adoption Policy | Ted Loch-Temzelides 
  Emphasizes the need to avoid picking winners in the energy technology race so that market forces and investor preferences can appropriately signal the most efficient outcomes.

Together, these briefs offer a roadmap for strengthening U.S. leadership across energy, trade, international relations, and sustainability. The recommendations highlight actionable priorities that integrate domestic capabilities with international strategy to ensure long-term resilience and competitiveness.

Revisit previous policy recommendations from 2017 and 2021.   
 

This publication was produced on behalf of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Wherever feasible, the material was reviewed by external experts prior to its release. Any errors are the responsibility of the author(s) alone. 

This material may be quoted or reproduced without prior permission, provided appropriate credit is given to the author(s) and Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. The views expressed herein are those of the individual author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.