Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has revealed what she sees as the six principal goals of the Democratic Congress and Obama Administration towards combating global warming, including a cap-and-trade emissions system and enforceable short- and long-term emissions targets.
“Every single Democrat on the committee has agreed with these principles,” said Boxer, Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee. “We also have a partner in the White House, who made it clear that combating global warming is one of his top priorities. He issued a call to action for us, and we are answering it…We all understand the urgent need for action, and we also all understand this is a great way to reinvigorate our economy.”
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has revealed what she sees as the six principal goals of the Democratic Congress and Obama Administration towards combating global warming, including a cap-and-trade emissions system and enforceable short- and long-term emissions targets.
“Every single Democrat on the committee has agreed with these principles,” said Boxer, Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee. “We also have a partner in the White House, who made it clear that combating global warming is one of his top priorities. He issued a call to action for us, and we are answering it…We all understand the urgent need for action, and we also all understand this is a great way to reinvigorate our economy.”
The six priorities are:
- Reduce emissions to levels guided by science to avoid dangerous global warming.
- Set short and long term emissions targets that are certain and enforceable, with periodic review of the climate science and adjustments to targets and policies as necessary to meet emissions reduction targets.
- Ensure that state and local entities continue pioneering efforts to address global warming. Establish a transparent and accountable market-based system that efficiently reduces carbon emissions. (Cap and trade)
- Keep consumers whole as the nation transitions to clean energy;
- Invest in clean energy technologies and energy efficiency measures;
- Assist states, localities and tribes in addressing and adapting to global warming impacts;
- Assist workers, businesses and communities, including manufacturing states, in the transition to a clean energy economy;
- Support efforts to conserve wildlife and natural systems threatened by global warming; and
- Work with the international community, including faith leaders, to provide support to developing nations in responding and adapting to global warming. In addition to other benefits, these actions will help avoid the threats to international stability and national security posed by global warming.
- Ensure a level global playing field, by providing incentives for emission reductions and effective deterrents so that countries contribute their fair share to the international effort to combat global warming.
“In these challenging times, green jobs represent the kind of win-win solution we need. Green jobs are labor-intensive,” Boxer said. “They put people to work here in America - you can't outsource installation of a solar roof on your house to another country. And by focusing on green technology, energy efficiency and clean sources of energy, we will make America energy-independent and combat global warming.”
However, the plan has met resistance from Republicans and interest groups that feel the economy is in such dire straits that that should be the government’s sole concern.
"At a time when Congress is debating a near term multi-billion dollar bailout for the American economy, once again the Democrats are proposing principles for climate legislation that will impose a long-term multi-trillion dollar energy tax on families and workers,” said Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works Committee. “Congressional cap-and-trade bills, often touted as an ‘insurance policy’ against global warming, would instead be nothing more than all economic pain for no climate gain. We look forward to debating these tough issues in the Committee this year.”
“I think what Sen. Boxer was doing today was drawing her line in the sand,” Mike Joyce, director of legislative affairs for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), told the organization’s Land Line Magazine. “Sen. Boxer certainly has the backing of the new administration. But there is a sense here in Washington – and I think throughout the country – that the economy right now is most important today. We certainly as an Association want to be clear that we support clean air and a clean environment, but we’re obligated to ask the question, at what expense? We currently have hundreds and thousands of members that are parking their rigs – and we want to find the right way to get them back on the road driving commerce in this country.”
The American Trucking Assns. (ATA) has supported national fuel economy standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks that would lower emissions through reduced fuel consumption; implementing financial incentives through tax credits or grants to help the introduction of idling reduction equipment; and increasing funding for the Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay program.
