{"id":522814,"date":"2010-04-10T08:14:40","date_gmt":"2010-04-10T12:14:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/climateprogress.org\/?p=22800"},"modified":"2010-04-10T08:14:40","modified_gmt":"2010-04-10T12:14:40","slug":"analysis-strong-carbon-cap-would-cut-iran%e2%80%99s-petrodollars-by-over-100-million-a-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/522814","title":{"rendered":"Analysis: Strong carbon cap would cut Iran\u2019s petrodollars by over $100 million a day"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Strong<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A strong cap on carbon would significantly cut the flow of petrodollars to Iran\u2019s hostile regime, a ThinkProgress analysis<\/a> shows.<\/p>\n

<\/span>The economic and political strength of Iran\u2019s dictatorship is a threat to the national security of the United States and the world, and its nuclear ambitions threaten to destabilize the Middle East. Yesterday, diplomats from \u201csix world powers have met for the first time to discuss imposing new sanctions on Iran<\/a> for its failure to suspend work on its controversial nuclear program,\u201d but negotiators have not yet figured how to achieve President Barack Obama\u2019s goal of being \u201cconsistent and steady<\/a> in applying international pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran, \u201cwhich holds the world\u2019s second-biggest oil and gas reserves and supplies about 4.5 percent of the world\u2019s oil production,\u201d uses its oil power \u201cas a strategic asset<\/a>.\u201d One mechanism to control the flow of petrodollars to Iran \u2014 whose oil production<\/a> is worth $120 billion a year at current prices<\/a> \u2014 is for the United States to control its appetite for oil. ThinkProgress has found that a carbon cap that reduces global warming pollution by 80 percent by 2050 would mean Iran would lose approximately $1.8 trillion worth of oil revenues over the next forty years \u2014 over $100 million a day [as the figure shows].<\/p>\n

The United States is by far the world\u2019s biggest consumer of oil<\/a>, accounting for 25 percent of world production. Our demand is more than the four next biggest consumers \u2014 China, Japan, India, and Russia \u2014 combined, despite having only 11% of their population. Unilateral action by the United States to reduce oil consumption has a profound effect on the world market, and is the first step towards global climate policy that builds a zero-carbon economy.<\/p>\n

If the world moves away from oil dependence, Iran\u2019s regime will no longer be able to rely on petrodollars to stay afloat. Other unfriendly regimes<\/a> propped up by carbon-fuel money, such as Hugo Chavez\u2019s Venezuela, will also feel the pinch, improving our national security and making it less likely our armed services will fight battles amid the oil fields. For that to happen, the United States must pass comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation as fast as possible, the stronger the better.<\/p>\n

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