For the first time in nearly 14 years, the national average price for gasoline surpassed $4 per gallon. The price at the pump is up more than 40 cents per gallon from just a week ago and $1.30 per gallon higher from one year ago. In a matter of days, the nationwide average price could be the highest ever recorded.

What’s going on and what can Washington do about it?

The price of crude oil makes up the largest share (43%) of the price of a gallon of gasoline. Refining (25%) and federal and state taxes (22%) follow. As a globally traded commodity, the supply and demand for oil internationally affects prices in America.

While frustrated motorists may be tempted to slap a Joe Biden “I Did That!” sticker on their local gas pump, the reality is gas prices have steadily increased since the summer of 2020. Demand outpaced supply as countries relaxed travel restrictions, people returned to work, and economic activity picked up.

Prices spiked to triple digits for crude after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia is the world’s second largest oil producer, providing 10% of the global market share. Geopolitical risk makes oil markets uneasy because of the fear that conflict will curtail supplies. Sanctions on banks, companies divesting from Russian oil and gas, threats of oil import bans, and traders avoiding Russian oil sent prices even higher.

Ramping up production isn’t as simple as turning on the faucet. Many companies used revenues generated from higher prices to pay down debt. Remember, it wasn’t all that long ago that coronavirus outbreak weakened demand so severely that it sent crude oil prices into a tailspin. The oil price collapse crushed the industry, leading to a record bankruptcy debt of $100 billion in North America.

But domestic supply is climbing. U.S. supplies will likely reach 12 million barrels per day (b/d) this year, up 760,000 b/d from a year ago. We could see record-high output in 2023.

Of course, the U.S. is one of many suppliers in the global oil market. OPEC members promised an additional 400,000 b/d last July but have underdelivered, supplying about half that. Saudi Arabia may be in the best position to get more oil to the market quickly (a matter of weeks), but has been reluctant to do so.

There’s no easy button for President Biden to push to ease the pain at the pump. The coordinated release of 60 million barrels of oil from government reserves will be modest and short-lived.

The administration could provide some economic relief by temporarily waiving requirements to switch to summer gas blends. Summer blends evaporate less easily, which reduces emissions, but can add up to 15 cents per gallon.

Furthermore, Jones Act requirements mandate that oil shipped between two ports in the U.S. must be transported on a U.S.-built, U.S.-flagged vessel with a crew that is at least 75% American. Southern Methodist University professor James Coleman noted that northeast refiners paid triple the price to ship oil from Texas than West Africa or Saudi Arabia.

Another policy to revisit is the ethanol mandate, which has artificially increased gas prices for negligible environmental benefits.

President Biden isn’t solely to blame for $4 per gallon gasoline, but that doesn’t excuse this administration from poor policy decisions. Right off the bat the administration blocked the Keystone XL pipeline and halted new lease sales on federal lands and waters.

The price impacts of greenlighting these projects would not be immediate, but it would provide investment certainty, create jobs, and continue to strengthen America’s position as the world’s largest oil and gas producer.

Importantly, these actions are misguided environmental and climate policy. Cancelling pipelines and imposing drilling bans is not going to stop oil consumption. Rather, it will increase dependence on sources with less rigorous environmental standards and from sources hostile to American interests. Any climate policy that restricts domestic production but doesn’t factor the unintended consequences of increased global emissions is a non-solution.

Instead, Congress and the administration should recognize America’s global leadership in oil production is an economic, environmental, and geopolitical advantage. Working with our allies, American producers can be a global leader in supplying affordable gas prices and the international model for environmental and climate stewardship.

Nick Loris is the vice president of public policy at the Conservative Coalition for Climate Solutions (C3 Solutions).