Amos J. Hochstein
(born January 4, 1973) is a U.S. businessman, diplomat, and lobbyist. He has worked in the U.S. Congress, has testified before congressional panels and has served in the
Barack Obama administration
Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
under
Secretaries of State Clinton and
Kerry
Kerry or Kerri may refer to:
* Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Kerry, Queensland, Australia
* County Kerry, Ireland
** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...
. He was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in 2011 and as Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs. In 2015,
President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
nominated Hochstein to be the
Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources
The Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources is the head of the Bureau of Energy Resources within the United States Department of State, supporting the department's efforts in promoting international energy security. The assistant secre ...
but
the Senate did not act on the nomination.
While at the
State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
, Hochstein worked as a close advisor to
Vice-President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
Joe Biden. He served in the administration from 2011 to 2017.
In March 2017, he joined
Tellurian, a private
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
-based
LNG
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volu ...
company, where he served as Senior Vice President Marketing until his departure in September of 2020. He serves on the boards of the
Atlantic Council
The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...
and U.S.-India Business Council. Hochstein is a former member of the supervisory board of Ukrainian
Naftogaz
Naftogaz of Ukraine ( uk, НАК "Нафтогаз України", ''Naftogaz Ukrayiny''; literally "Petro-Gas of Ukraine") is the largest national oil and gas company of Ukraine. It is a state-owned company , from which he resigned in October 2020 by writing an opinion piece that highlighted the return of sabotage in the form of corrupt forces.
On August 10, 2021,
United States Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
Antony Blinken
Antony John Blinken (born April 16, 1962) is an American government official and diplomat serving as the 71st United States secretary of state since January 26, 2021. He previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 and ...
announced that he is appointing Hochstein as the Senior Advisor for Energy Security.
Biography
Hochstein was born in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, the child of
American Jewish
American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora ...
immigrants.
He served in the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
from 1992 to 1995 and began working as a foreign policy adviser to Democratic Party members of the U.S. government House Foreign Affairs Committee from October 2000 to January 2001.
[Four years after leaving post, will Dan Shapiro return as old-new US ambassador?]
, ''Times of Israel,'' Tal Schneider (Jan 20, 2021) He identifies as a
Modern Orthodox Jew
Modern Orthodox Judaism (also Modern Orthodox or Modern Orthodoxy) is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law with the secular, modern world.
Modern Orthodoxy draws on seve ...
. He is married to Julie Rae Ringel; they have four children together
and live in Washington D.C. His wife works for the Georgetown University Continuing Education School in the executive leadership coaching program.
Career
Advising Congress
On Capitol Hill, Hochstein first served on the
U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs
The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs ...
staff. In subsequent years he served in a variety of senior level positions, including the
House International Relations Committee
The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs o ...
, where he served as Senior Policy Advisor. In 1997, he later was sent to
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
to report on the country's economic and military status as well as the progress and opportunities for humanitarian relief efforts.
Later, Hochstein served as the Senior Policy Advisor to the
Foreign Affairs Committee of the
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
. Hochstein first served as the principal Democratic staff person on the
Economic Policy, Trade & Environment Subcommittee
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the p ...
where he oversaw work authorizing
Ex-Im Bank,
OPIC
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) was the United States Government's Development finance institution until it merged with the Development Credit Authority (DCA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAI ...
and
USTDA
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) is an independent agency of the United States government, formed in 1992 to advance economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle income countries.
Structure
The U.S. ...
, as well as drafting legislation on export controls and trade-related multilateral organizations and regimes.
Hochstein also worked as a Senior Policy Advisor to then-Governor
Mark Warner
Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th governo ...
, and later as Policy Director for Senator
Chris Dodd
Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's history. H ...
.
He joined Dodd's team in the beginning of 2007 and was the Policy Director during his
2008 Presidential campaign.
Hochstein was also an aide to Representative
Sam Gejdenson
Samuel Gejdenson (born May 20, 1948) is a former United States Representative for the 2nd Congressional District of Connecticut.
Biography
Born in a displaced persons camp in Eschwege, Allied-occupied Germany, Gejdenson was the child of a Bel ...
.
During his time on
Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...
, Hochstein travelled to Iraq and was involved in U.S. back-channel diplomatic discussions to potentially lift
U.S. economic sanctions in exchange for the potential resettlement of several thousand
Palestinian refugees
Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine, and their descendants, who fled or were expelled from their country over the course of the 1947–49 Palestine war (1948 Palestinian exodus) and the Six-Day War (1967 Palestinian exodu ...
in Central Iraq. Hochstein argued that the economic sanctions had to be maintained while conceding that it was necessary to "humanise" those sanctions.
Cassidy & Associates
Hochstein later moved to the
private sector
The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government.
Employment
The ...
as Executive Vice President of International Operations at Cassidy & Associates. Throughout his career, he was a counselor and lobbyist for both domestic and international oil and gas companies, as well as companies focusing on renewable energy. In this capacity, he assisted corporations in assessing potential new markets and the development of alternative sources of power.
While working at Cassidy & Associates, Hochstein also worked on the account of the President of Equatorial Guinea,
Teodoro Obiang Nguema
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (; born 5 June 1942) is an Equatoguinean politician and former military officer who has served as the second president of Equatorial Guinea since August 1979. He is the longest-serving president of any country eve ...
, Africa's longest serving dictator, to improve the relationship with the United States. In his book "Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power", two times
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
winner
Steve Coll
Steve Coll (born October 8, 1958) is an Americans, American journalist, academic and executive.
He is currently the dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he is also the Henry R. Luce Professor of Journalism. A staf ...
recounts, that while Hochstein initially was uncomfortable with the Equatorial Guinea account, he assisted in the development of a "road map" of political changes together with the
U.S. National Security Council
The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and foreign policy matters. Based in the White House, it is part of the Exe ...
, that Equatorial Guinea would have to implement in order to display their political sincerity to change and to improve relations with the United States. The outlines involved prisoner releases, substantial public investments in health care and education and Hochstein coordinated the communication of these points with and between Equatorial Guinea's leadership and the State Department. Hochstein and others, among them Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Uni ...
and
Paul Wolfowitz
Paul Dundes Wolfowitz (born December 22, 1943) is an American political scientist and diplomat who served as the 10th President of the World Bank, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, and former dean of Johns Hopkins SA ...
, said they were convinced by Obiang's will to change and adapt. Equatorial Guinea under the Obiang regime remains by many accounts one of the world's least free countries. Hochstein defended the Obiang regime in an interview with the
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
. He stated that the development and support of the democratic process in countries like Equatorial Guinea must be supported and that Western states cannot expect changes of long-standing political realities overnight. Eventually Hochstein resigned from the lobbying account but continued to work for Cassidy until 2006.
Energy diplomat for the Obama Administration
Hochstein began working at the
U.S. Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
in 2011, joining the newly formed
Bureau of Energy Resources
The Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR) is a bureau in the United States Department of State that coordinates the department's efforts in promoting international energy security. Under the purview of the Under Secretary of State for Economic Grow ...
.
Serving as deputy to Special Envoy
Carlos Pascual, Hochstein worked to help
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
find new supplies of
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
in the wake of the
2014 Russian invasion.
He oversaw the Office of Middle East, Asia and Europe, the Western Hemisphere and Africa. Hochstein led the energy related diplomacy efforts.
Special Envoy and Coordinator of International Energy Affairs
On August 1, 2014, Hochstein succeeded
Carlos Pascual as acting Special Envoy and Coordinator of International Energy Affairs, and was permanently appointed to the position later in the year
by Secretary Kerry.
As the Special Envoy, Hochstein oversaw the Bureau of Energy Resources and advised
Secretary of State John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...
on global energy security and diplomacy, as well as integration of renewable and clean energy and related security matters. He also worked closely with officials at the White House's National Security Council and other government agencies.
In his capacity as the U.S.'s Chief Energy Diplomat, Hochstein had an important role in shaping foreign energy and security policy and worked closely with U.S. Vice President
Joe Biden, accompanying him on international travel and advancing energy as a key US foreign policy tool. Hochstein and Biden worked together on the Caribbean Energy Security Initiative, Central America Energy Security Task Force, Cyprus and East Mediterranean, as well as securing Ukraine and Europe from Russian energy dominance.
Hochstein encouraged European countries to find new oil, gas, coal, and nuclear sources, to alleviate their dependence on
Russian energy. In response to President
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
's plans for new gas pipelines to bypass an existing transit coordinator through
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
towards
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, Hochstein described the plans as "political projects that have questionable economic value" to the European energy market.
He has also stated that the U.S.'s position isn't to exclude Russia from the European market entirely, but rather that Russia should be an equal player, remarking that "European countries should be able to choose their supplier and force their suppliers to compete for their business. That is what is good for energy security of Europe, economic security and ultimately for the national security of those countries involved."
Hochstein has also been involved in the U.S. front against the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
, specifically cutting their oil revenues by disrupting their production lines. Hochstein oversaw the U.S. efforts to cripple Islamic State's energy business by weakening oil trade between ISIS, the Syrian government and other parties. His team coordinated with the
U.S. Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...
to determine targets. Airstrikes subsequently blew up over 1,000 tanker trucks and other key targets. In a testimony before the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid pro ...
, Hochstein described the military actions as "not only more bombings, but a different kind of bombing."
Hochstein's
energy diplomacy Energy diplomacy is a form of diplomacy, and a subfield of international relations. It is closely related to its principal, foreign policy, and to overall national security, specifically energy security. Energy diplomacy began in the first half of t ...
efforts in the Middle East have been critical. Former Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
cited Hochstein's work as helping to provide an incentive for the renewed relationship between Israel and Turkey. This followed his work to revive efforts to settle maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel. At the conclusion of his visit, Hochstein made statements stressing his visit was to discuss delayed gas exploration in Lebanon. In October 2022, Amos Hochstein, managed to negotiate a maritime deal between Lebanon and Israel following months of negotiations, settling the
Israeli–Lebanese maritime border dispute. The previous year, 2014, Hochstein helped “pave the way” for the $500 million natural gas agreement between Israel and Jordan visiting Jordan 14 times and was, alongside Israel's former President
Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...
, a "key broker" for the gas export deal. This agreement concluded an effort that Secretary of State Clinton began in 2011.
In response to Russian officials claiming that the
Turkish government
The Government of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Hükûmeti) is the national government of Turkey. It is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative democracy and a constitutional republic within a pluriform multi-party ...
was illegally buying oil from the Islamic State, Hochstein dismissed these claims, saying that "I do not believe there is significant smuggling between ISIL-controlled areas and Turkey of oil of any significant volume."
Hochstein has also worked on multilateral energy affairs, meeting with
Urban Rusnák
Urban Rusnák (born 9 September 1967 in Košice, Czechoslovakia) is a Slovak diplomat and academic. He holds a M.Sc. from the Moscow University of Oil and Gas, and a Ph.D. in Public Administration and Political Sciences from the Institute of S ...
, Secretary-General of the
Energy Charter Conference, to discuss progress on the Energy Charter Process, discussing the advance of clean energy investments and energy security with government officials in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and meeting several other state leaders and government officials to coordinate energy and security matters with states like
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
and Saudi Arabia and other states in the Middle East.
Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources
On October 8, 2015, President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
nominated Hochstein to be the
Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources
The Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources is the head of the Bureau of Energy Resources within the United States Department of State, supporting the department's efforts in promoting international energy security. The assistant secre ...
, the official chief position for the bureau. Hochstein continued his efforts in all previously engaged fields of national and international energy and security matters, including Iran sanctions, energy opportunities in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, the US-India energy cooperation, the US-
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
energy cooperation, the administration's strategy on Russia, and the fight against ISIS.
He also was involved in discussing and mapping out details of the
Southern Gas Corridor
The Southern Gas Corridor is an initiative of the European Commission for a natural gas supply route from Caspian and Middle Eastern regions to Europe, proposed in 2008. The goal of the Southern Gas Corridor is to reduce Europe's dependency on Ru ...
project generally
and the
Trans Adriatic Pipeline
Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) ( sq, Gazsjellësi Trans-Adriatik, el, Διαδριατικός Αγωγός Φυσικού Αερίου - ''Diadriatikós Agogós Fysikoú Aeríou'', it, Gasdotto Trans-Adriatico) is a natural gas pipeline p ...
with
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
specifically.
He authored the White House Caribbean Energy Security Initiative and chaired President Obama's U.S.-Caribbean and U.S.-Central America Energy Security Task Force. He also continued to lead U.S. efforts to promote global fuel switching to
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
and develop stronger natural gas markets in Asia and South Asia.
He headed the State Department's Unconventional Gas Technical Engagement Program, formerly known as Global
Shale Gas
Shale gas is an unconventional natural gas that is found trapped within shale formations. Since the 1990s a combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has made large volumes of shale gas more economical to produce, and some a ...
Initiative.
He was succeeded by
Frank R. Fannon, now Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources.
Since leaving the White House, Hochstein appeared on a Trump White House panel promoting the use of fossil fuels at the 2016 Bonn Climate Change Conference.
Executive at Tellurian
In 2017 Hochstein joined
Tellurian, a private LNG-gas company and today serves as EVP of Marketing. He has left Tellurian to pursue other endeavors.
Senior Advisor on Energy Security for Biden Administration
Serving in various diplomatic positions for the United States government, according to the US state department in 2021, he is not a dual-national.
[Amos Hochstein: The Israel-born diplomat mediating Lebanon-Israel maritime border negotiations]
" '' L'Orient Today'', November 5, 2021
Energy and Foreign Policy Positions
Hochstein sees
renewable energies
Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a Orders of magnitude (time), human timescale. It includes sources such as Solar power, sunlight, wind power, wind, the movement of Hydropo ...
as very important and being at the center of both the future's energy market and US
energy policy
Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity (often governmental) has decided to address issues of energy development including energy conversion, distribution and use as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in order to contri ...
. He is of the opinion, that the realistic transition into a fully renewable resourced
energy mix
The energy mix is a group of different primary energy sources from which secondary energy for direct use - such as electricity - is produced. Energy mix refers to all direct uses of energy, such as transportation and housing, and should not be c ...
, will take some time and that the use of cleaner resources (e.g.
LNG
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volu ...
to replace
heavy crude oil
Heavy crude oil (or extra heavy crude oil) is highly-viscous oil that cannot easily flow from production wells under normal reservoir conditions.
It is referred to as "heavy" because its density or specific gravity is higher than that of light cru ...
s) for this transition period is crucial to sustain economic developments and growth. Hochstein said: "Here in Washington, I think we are the last city on the planet…where we still talk about
fossil fuel
A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels m ...
versus renewables as some kind of zero-sum game
It is not one or the other. It is going to have to be both because we are going to need the baseload and we are going to need the fuels that will transition us to the future."
At the 2015 Renewable Energy Transition event hosted by the
International Renewable Energy Agency
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organization mandated to facilitate cooperation, advance knowledge, and promote the adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. It is the first international organis ...
(IRENA) and the
Atlantic Council
The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...
's Global Energy Center, Hochstein stated that "unlike oil and gas, the technological advances we’re seeing in renewables are making them cheaper and better." He further said: "U.S.
energy security
Energy security is the association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption. Access to (relatively) cheap energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies. However, the uneven ...
, energy sustainability and climate objectives are mutually reinforcing. As such, we are working to promote energy efficiency, conservation and transformation of energy systems. We are encouraging market reforms, such as the elimination of
fossil fuel subsidies
Fossil fuel subsidies are energy subsidies on fossil fuels. They may be tax breaks on consumption, such as a lower sales tax on natural gas for residential heating; or subsidies on production, such as tax breaks on exploration for oil. Or ...
, that can address
overall energy demand."
Hochstein has been interviewed by national and international media, commenting on national and international energy policy, energy security, and foreign policy. Due to environmental and economic considerations, the Biden administration and the subject have opposed the proposed
EastMed pipeline
The Eastern Mediterranean pipeline or simply EastMed is a planned offshore/onshore natural gas pipeline, directly connecting East Mediterranean energy resources to mainland Greece via Cyprus and Crete. The project, currently in design, will tran ...
in favor of an Egyptian route.
Memberships
Hochstein servers on the board of the
Atlantic Council
The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...
and the U.S.-Indian Business Council.
Hochstein is a former member of the supervisory board of the
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
energy company
Naftogaz
Naftogaz of Ukraine ( uk, НАК "Нафтогаз України", ''Naftogaz Ukrayiny''; literally "Petro-Gas of Ukraine") is the largest national oil and gas company of Ukraine. It is a state-owned company . He was appointed in 2017 and resigned in October 2020 claiming that the company was returning to
corrupted practices.
[A foreigner leaves the supervisory board of Naftogaz: "Sabotage by corrupt forces is growing"]
Ukrayinska Pravda
''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukraini ...
(12 October 2020)
In October 2019 Hochstein was mentioned by former U.S. officials in relation to the
Trump–Ukraine scandal
The "Trump–Ukraine scandal" refers to efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump to coerce Ukraine and other countries into providing damaging narratives about 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden, and giving misinformatio ...
. It was reported that as early as May 2019 Hochstein alerted the National Security Council staff that
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
and
Gordon Sondland
Gordon David Sondland (born July 16, 1957) is an American businessman. He is the founder and chairman of Provenance Hotels. He also served as the United States Ambassador to the European Union from 2018 to 2020. In November 2019, Sondland testi ...
's pressure tactics were rattling
Ukrainian president
The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...
Volodymyr Zelensky
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...
. It was also reported that
Rick Perry
James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 and as the 47th governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015. Perry also ran unsuccessfully for the Republica ...
planned to have Hochstein replaced as a member of the board at
Naftogaz
Naftogaz of Ukraine ( uk, НАК "Нафтогаз України", ''Naftogaz Ukrayiny''; literally "Petro-Gas of Ukraine") is the largest national oil and gas company of Ukraine. It is a state-owned company with someone aligned with Republican interests. Perry denied the reports.
[''The Wall Street Journal'', "How Rick Perry Became a Figure in the Impeachment Inquiry," Oct. 18, 201]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hochstein, Amos
1973 births
American lobbyists
American Orthodox Jews
American people of Israeli descent
Energy policy of the United States
Biden administration personnel
Living people
Petroleum politics
Place of birth missing (living people)
United States Department of State officials
United States Special Envoys
Washington, D.C., Democrats