Unlikely Leaders in Support of GG Regulations
December 12th, 2006 by Carbon CoalitionToday the New York Times published “The Cost of an Overheated Planet.” This article reports that a growing number of business leaders, politicians, and even the most unlikely group of supporters–members from the power industry–are pushing for mandatory regulations on greenhouse gas emissions.
James E. Rogers, chief executive of Duke Energy, a coal burning utility in the Midwest and Southeast, as well as the chairman of the Edison Electric Institute, explains “climate change is real, and we clearly believe we are on a route to mandatory controls for carbon dioxide, and we need to start now because the longer we wait, the more difficult and expensive this is going to be.”
Studies have shown that the cost of curbing global warming is not going to be cheap–projections are at $120 billion a year in the U.S. alone. However, Richard Cooper, a Harvard economist, compares these costs to energy price increases during the cold war: “The issues are similar in that you pay now so things are less risky in the future–it’s an insurance policy. And in the cold war, we taxed ourselves fairly high to mitigate that threat.” Experts believe that either a cap and trade system or a carbon tax are the best initial steps to combating climate change. While both methods face criticism, many believe the cap and trade system is the best initial step based upon the success of the sulfur dioxide emission cap.
In other news…Sen. Hillary Clinton made her first official–but not official–confirmation that she is considering a run for President in 2008. Clinton says she is “looking at where our country is, where I would like to see it go, listening to people who think I might make a contribution to that.” (Read the entire story from the Union Leader here.)
