Oil Solutions Initiative
Download: A Framework for Breaking U.S. Oil Dependence: Policy Goals and Objectives
Developed collaboratively by the Oil Solutions Initiative (~1.5MB)
Oil Solutions - Breaking U.S. Oil Dependence
Americans depend on oil to get to work each day, to ship goods across the country, and to travel any considerable distance. If oil suddenly became unavailable, Americans' lives would be greatly disrupted. It is no wonder that the U.S. spends a considerable amount of its budget, military resources, and political capital securing oil supplies.
The Oil Solutions Initiative (OSI), a joint endeavor of Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and the Brookings Institution (Brookings) convenes leaders, experts and activists from the national security, environmental, economic, business, oil and energy fields to find common ground on the approach to U.S. oil dependence.
At the first OSI gathering in December 2008, the Oil Solutions Summit, participants agreed on one overriding theme: despite awareness and acknowledgement over the past 30 years, the lack of long-term policy commitment has kept the U.S. from making significant progress on the oil dependence front.
To address this issue, the Oil Solutions Summit participants worked on a unified framework of goals and enablers to properly orient policy. Research since the summit has quantified the impact that these goals can have when implemented together. Our policy goals and reccommendations are now publicly available.
About RMI and the Brookings Institution
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) is an independent, entrepreneurial, nonprofit organization that fosters the efficient and restorative use of resources to make the world secure, just, prosperous, and life-sustaining. Our staff shows businesses, communities, individuals, and governments how to create more wealth and employment, protect and enhance natural and human capital, increase profit and competitive advantage, and enjoy many other benefits — largely by doing what they do far more efficiently. RMI has extensive experience bringing different parties together to work out complex issues. Past projects have included the Smart Garage Workshop (in which RMI analyzed the implementation of the Smart Garage by convening various value chain members including Google, Ford, Johnson Controls, Duke Energy, and Danaher), and the National Energy Policy Initiative (in which RMI brought together 22 energy policy experts and private sector leaders to form a consensus on US energy policy).
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization that conducts high -quality, independent research and, based on that research, provides innovative, practical recommendations that advance three broad goals: strengthen American democracy; foster the economic and social welfare, security and opportunity of all Americans; and secure a more open, safe, prosperous and cooperative international system. Brookings’ Energy Security Initiative was launched in the fall of 2007 and draws from Brookings research programs to take a multi-disciplinary approach to the manifold challenges associated with sound energy policies.