Press Release: Voinovich Proposes Legislation to Increase Global Warming Pollution for Decades
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| Press Release: Voinovich Proposes Legislation to Increase Global Warming Pollution for Decades FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Tony Kreindler, EDF, 202-572-3378 or 202-210-5791 (cell)(Washington — May 2, 2008) Ohio Senator George Voinovich today proposed to address the rapidly escalating threat of climate change by delaying meaningful federal action to control greenhouse gas emissions, obstructing existing state programs, and allowing U.S. global warming pollution to increase for decades to come. “This proposal can be summed up in one word: bankrupt,” said Steve Cochran, national climate campaign director at Environmental Defense Fund. “It’s a detailed prescription for doing nothing. If you think climate change is a hoax, this is your bill."
The plan outlined by Senator Voinovich today postpones meaningful action on greenhouse gas emissions for at least twenty years, calling for weak, non-binding emissions reduction benchmarks – current levels in 2020 and 1990 levels in 2030 – while providing taxpayer-funded subsidies for favored technologies. If the subsidies failed to achieve their goal, the Environmental Protection Agency could establish a cap and trade system to reduce emissions – but it could be suspended at the whim of the federal government, and it would come with an astonishingly low $5 per ton “safety valve” – an artificial price control on emissions reductions.
In the meantime, the proposal would take away state authority – confirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Massachusetts v. EPA – to control global warming pollution. Dozens of states across the country, including California, Florida, and the Northeast members of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, have set ambitious emissions reduction targets.
Widespread scientific consensus holds that the U.S. needs to reduce emissions to roughly 80 percent below current levels by mid-century to help avoid the worst consequences of climate change. The U.S. can meet that target by reducing emissions by a manageable two percent per year – every year of delay will require steeper emissions cuts at a higher cost to the economy.
The Senate is expected to vote in early June on the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act (S. 2191), a bipartisan bill that puts an enforceable limit on pollution and puts the U.S. on a path to meeting science-based emissions reduction targets without harming the economy. The Energy Information Administration reported earlier this week that the bill’s mandatory cap and trade system would effectively reduce emissions without impacting strong long-term economic growth in the U.S.
“Senators looking for an environmentally effective and economically sound climate policy need to look no further than the Climate Security Act. Senator Voinovich’s proposal is just an escape route from credible action, and it leads to the same old expensive and ineffective policies that have already failed to curb emissions,” Cochran said. “It’s an attempt to block real action, and it’s only going to raise the price of fixing this problem down the road.”
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| Press Release: New Analysis Reveals Big Opportunities for Florida Farmers and Foresters FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
Jerry Karnas, Environmental Defense Fund, 941-587-1803
Dr. Stephen Mulkey, University of Florida School of Natural Resources and Environment, 352-871-8543
Lisa Garcia, Ron Sachs Communications, 850-222-1996
(Washington DC- April 30, 2008) Florida’s farmers and foresters stand to reap hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue under proposed climate change legislation now pending in the U.S. Congress, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis from the University of Florida.
The analysis released today, “Opportunities for Greenhouse Gas Reduction through Forestry and Agriculture in Florida,” found that agriculture producers can earn more than $340 million – every year – by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and selling emission credits under a federal cap and trade program like the one created by S. 2191, the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act.
Biofuels, biomass, energy crops, and managed forestry are just some of the many sectors of Florida’s agriculture and forest industry that could stand to benefit from a carbon market, according to the analysis, which was commissioned by Environmental Defense Fund.
“This is a huge incentive for Florida’s agricultural sector – and another reason why Congress needs to take action now to address climate change and bolster Florida’s economy,” said Jerry Karnas, Florida climate project director at Environmental Defense Fund.
The U.S. Senate is poised to vote on the Climate Security Act in early June. The bill would put a mandatory cap on emissions, and allow companies that emit greenhouse gases to meet the cap in part by purchasing credits from farmers and foresters that make emissions reductions.
“Our report demonstrates that we can combine the ethical imperative of responding to climate change with power of the market, while protecting Florida’s natural resources,” said Dr. Stephen Mulkey, lead author of the report from the University of Florida School of Natural Resources and Environment. “There are a number of ways to reap the benefits of and this is very positive news for Florida’s economy.”
A few of the report’s findings include:
“We are always looking for new ways to help keep Florida’s agricultural producers profitable,” said John Hoblick, president of Florida Farm Bureau Federation. “Giving them access to a voluntary market that will compensate them for their environmentally friendly practices is clearly a good thing and is something we are proud to be promoting.”
Other estimates from the Research Triangle Institute and MIT find that the market for agricultural offsets could range between $243 and $624 billion by 2050.
“The report verifies what we have been saying all along – woody biomass can play an important role in supplying renewable energy,” Jeff Doran, Executive Vice President of the Florida Forestry Association. “It also supports our position that forests are not the sole solution to the state’s renewable energy needs and that a comprehensive solution including solar, wind and nuclear, will work best for Florida.”
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