First, President Bush signed an energy bill yesterday that would take a small step toward reducing our dependence on foreign oil. By raising CAFE standards for cars and trucks to 35 miles per gallon by 2020 and increasing the use of renewable energy four-fold by 2022, we will, estimates the bipartisan National Commission on Energy Policy, cut our greenhouse gas pollution by 9 percent during the next 23 years and reduce our daily oil consumption by 5 million barrels per day.
That’s a good start. But this energy bill is no substitute for a cap and trade policy that uses the marketplace, not taxes and mandates, to reduce our addiction to foreign oil and send our CO2 emissions on a downward trend. That should be Congress’ next order of energy business.
Second, the UN climate conference at Bali wrapped up this past weekend. The Bush administration can claim credit for a joining other nations in an agreement that brings China and India into a process aimed at “measurable, reportable and verifiable” policies to reduce greenhouse gas pollution. That’s one key to any successful international climate effort.
One thing that won’t win my personal plaudits: Al Gore’s speech to the assembled diplomats. Did you catch New York City Mayor Ed Koch’s tart response? Hizzoner is wrong about the costs associated with cap and trade done right (translate that as the American way). But he’s right about the need to get countries like China to toe the CO2-reduction line. And he’s right about the former Veep’s choice of tone and venue, don’t you think?
This entry was posted on Thursday, December 20th, 2007 at 9:20 am and is filed under Cap and Trade, International Environmental News, Oil and Gas, Politics/Government . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
