Perry, the former governor of Texas, Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, and Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, used the forum to mostly take shots at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule that would require utilities to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.

The three Republicans said the proposed rule would add costs, hinder business investment and kill jobs. Affordable energy, they said, is critical to national defense.

Santorum and Perry spread their love to renewable energy, too. Santorum touted his support for the federal mandate that requires ethanol and biodiesel to be blended into the nation’s fuel supply. And Perry said investment in wind energy is an investment in jobs.

Missing from the discussion was any mention of the environmental cost of oil, gas and coal production, said Steve Falck, senior policy advocate at the Environmental Law & Policy Center. “There are great costs to society and the environment,” he said.

Here’s a snapshot from the potential candidates at the forum, sponsored by InsideSources.com and America’s Power. It was funded by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity.

Rick Perry

Perry criticized Russia’s threat to squeeze oil exports to Europe to avoid deeper economic sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine.

“We need to talk plainly about the stakes. Our energy policy is a driving force of both our economic prosperity and national security. One of the most profound ways to enhance national security is to bring stability around the globe — and I’m one of those people who believe Ronald Reagan understood it very well — when America is strong, the world is a safer place.

“How we change the dynamic … is to aggressively market American energy around the globe. We see how energy can be used in a malignant way, through the actions by Russia. Energy is a weapon in the hands of an aggressor. I say if energy is going to be used as a weapon, then America needs the largest arsenal.”

Jindal said overreach by the federal government interferes with improving American income.

“We’re in the middle of an energy revolution that can transform our economy. They can bring good-paying jobs to our economy. I’m not just talking about exploration and production jobs. … It’s also manufacturing jobs and downstream jobs.

“CF Industries is making a huge investment in your state ($2 billion near Sioux City) and my state to expand its fertilizer facilities. Billions of dollars are being invested in fertilizer, in steel, in petrochemicals in our country, reversing investment that had gone abroad, bringing good-paying jobs back to America, all because of affordable energy.

“It’s also an opportunity to lower energy prices and put more dollars in the average family’s pockets. Just the energy revolution alone over the next 10, 20 years could increase the median family income by 7 percent without more federal spending, borrowing or taxing.”

Santorum took issue with the science behind the proposed EPA rules, saying it often fails to support the costs of the initiatives.

“The regulations that we’re seeing coming out of this administration have nothing to do with science. It’s like a quasi-religious crusade for them. They want to eliminate fossil fuels. They don’t care about the impact.

“They don’t care about affordable energy so we can have manufacturing jobs so the 75 percent of Americans who don’t have a college degree can make things and provide for themselves and their families. They don’t care about going to the Kum & Go and getting affordable energy so you have more money to spend on your family. They don’t care about that.

“This is all about a mission that has nothing to do with working men and women, or seniors. It has to do with a crusade that’s not based on science. It’s based on the world they want to see in the future.”