Lethal Trajectories - Michael Conley [137]
“Count me in, Veronica,” crowed Jake. “Frankly, I’d love to see us translate all our grousing and whining into something concrete, and this sounds like a good way to go.”
Others joined Jake in the chorus, and Veronica could see she was on to something. She led the group in prayer, and they closed on a high note. She felt energized by the excitement in the air as they slowly left for their cars.
An epiphany took place tonight, Veronica thought. These people, long accustomed to looking to the government for solutions and safety nets, were beginning to realize they were not helpless victims. Like their pioneering forefathers, they could also circle the wagons and work together in a common effort. There was strength in numbers. They were not alone.
49
Geneva, Switzerland
12 October 2017
Jack McCarty and Wang Peng were enjoying their morning coffee on the isolated patio of a chalet overlooking beautiful Lake Geneva. The cloudy, overcast morning contrasted with the good moods both were in. While tired from the previous day’s marathon of meetings, which had run late into the evening, they were exhilarated to have accomplished so much in such a short period of time.
“What do you think, Peng, can we pull this off?”
“We made enormous progress yesterday,” Peng replied, “and I know from talking to my team they felt the same. It’ll be interesting to see how they work out the two or three remaining issues we encountered, but it was a great start.”
“I heard the same story from my guys. How do you think the global oil rationing idea will play with your people?” Jack asked, recalling the previous night’s vigorous debate.
“I’m sure Lin Cheng will go along with it, but it’ll be a fight in the Politburo.”
“I’d hope your Politburo would agree,” Jack responded emphatically, “that a joint effort between our countries—the users of over 40 percent of the world’s oil—is needed to generate the muscle needed to build a world coalition.”
“No argument on that point from me, Jack, but we’ll get pushback on the idea of setting up a global ‘gas station’ to monitor transactions, consumption, and production numbers. The idea of using a third-party organization such as the International Energy Agency to keep track of the numbers might be acceptable, but ceding authority for setting rationing quotas to the IEA will be a tough sell.”
“I’ve thought about that too,” Jack replied, “but we’ve got to put teeth into it or it won’t work. How else can we take almost 25 percent of the world’s oil out of the system without destroying the global economy? We’ll all need to cut back by that amount, and we need a mechanism to enforce it. That seems logical to me.”
“It is logical, Jack, but the Politburo might see an inequity in the formula we’ve created. The 25 percent cutback applies only to imported oil and not domestic production. Since the United States produces more domestic oil, which is not subject to cutback, America won’t be making the same net reduction in oil as China. That might be a problem for us.”
“I can see your point,” Jack replied peevishly, “but we need to remember our agreed-upon requirement that 10 percent of all domestic production be withheld and placed in a contingency reserve managed by the IEA gas station to account for inequities in the system. As such, the United States, with over four million barrels of domestic production, will be required to set aside four hundred thousand barrels of reserves daily, whereas China, with two million barrels, will only have to set aside two hundred thousand barrels. Americans