This panel confronted an often-overlooked reality: energy poverty is not confined to the developing world. Drawing on new data and lived experience, panelists made clear that millions of Americans struggle with energy affordability, reliability, and access, with cascading consequences for health, economic mobility, and social stability.
Mike Howard, Becky Klein, and Dan Romito explored how energy poverty manifests differently in the U.S. than abroad, shifting from questions of access to questions of affordability and reliability. The discussion emphasized that energy poverty is not merely a technical challenge, but a regulatory and policy failure rooted in bad incentives, distorted markets, and legal barriers to building infrastructure.
Throughout the session, panelists argued that solving energy poverty requires abandoning ideological narratives in favor of pragmatic, market-based solutions that prioritize human flourishing, infrastructure build-out, and regulatory reform. From Texas to Mexico to global LNG markets, the panel illustrated how energy abundance, when paired with sound policy, directly translates into economic growth, resilience, and improved quality of life.
