Romney and McCain talk Fuel Efficiency
July 27th, 2007 by Carbon CoalitionBoth Gov. Romney and Sen. McCain were in NH on Wednesday talking about global warming and energy independence. Both of the Republican candidates shared their plans to combat global warming and received questions about whether they would raise fuel efficiency standards to both reduce carbon emissions and our dependence on foreign oil. (Studies show that if we raised it to 45mpg we could save 3 million barrels of oil a day, enough to replace all of the oil we get from the Persian Gulf).
After Romney discussed his No Regrets policy (see our July 23rd blog for more about Gov. Romney’s energy plans) he got into more detail about fuel efficiency. Romney stated that he absolutely thinks being efficient with the energy we are currently using is the best way to both reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce our carbon emissions. He stated that he hopes to see cars running on 50mpg within the next 10-20 years and that “this country can lead the world in technology.” He didn’t identify what actions he would pursue or support to raise fuel efficiency, but did seem supportive of the idea. One can only wonder if he would support raising fuel efficiency standards or if he hopes the market alone will bring us up to 50mpg.
Listen to what Romney had to say in Bedford: Audio 1, Audio2
After admitting to an audience in Keene that he didn’t know a lot about global warming during his campaign in 2000, Sen. McCain announced “I am convinced. There is not a doubt in my mind that climate change is real” and that “we have to move forward with green technologies.” He mentioned the need for both a cap and trade system and development of nuclear power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
When a FOTPC asked about raising fuel efficiency standards, McCain stated that we have to increase it but wants to do so with careful negotiations in order not to bankrupt the auto industry.
July 28th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
Bill Richardson had a meet and greet at Shirley’s Restaurant in Claremont, NH this morning. I was there and I asked for his views on decreasing dependency on foreign oil versus decreasing dependency on oil in general. I didn’t ask it specifically as relates to climate change, but rather with an eye toward conservation and ensuring that we don’t end up with a planet that no longer has oil in the ground. Sorry, I don’t have exact quotes. Perhaps you can find a transcript somewhere. But I posted a bit about what he said and my impressions of him as a candidate on my blog (The Repeal of Gravity Blog) at http://www.repealofgravity.com/blog
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:27 pm
[…] Romney continued to say that with rising gas prices, we will “slowly but surely move to vehicles that are far more fuel efficient and you’ll see our manufacturers start competing on the basis of fuel efficiency.” In our July 27th blog we wrote “One can only wonder if he would support raising fuel efficiency standards or if he hopes the market alone will bring us up to 50mpg.” […]