Global Warming Solutions News

Washington, DC — The U.S. Climate Action Partnership today issued recommendations for action on global warming.  Environment America Federal Global Warming Program Director Emily Figdor issued the following statement in response:

“While we applaud these companies for embracing mandatory cuts in global warming pollution and understand the process they have worked through was long and challenging, the most recent science suggests that the United States must achieve much deeper cuts in the next 10 years than the coalition has endorsed if we hope to stave off the worst effects of global warming. 

“The blueprint also includes loopholes, such as an enormous carbon offsets program, that threaten the integrity of the proposal.  Allowing polluters to buy their way out of reducing pollution means that they won’t shift any time soon to cleaner processes or technologies.  Instead, they will offset their known pollution with less-certain reductions from things like tree-planting projects or pollution reductions overseas.

“In addition, President-elect Obama has called for auctioning 100 percent of the pollution credits in a cap-and-trade program, but this blueprint would give credits to polluters for free.  It also would provide exorbitant subsides to industry for so-called ‘clean-coal’ technology, despite the fact that energy efficiency and renewable power are available now to reduce emissions.

“We look forward to working with President-elect Obama and Congress to craft legislation that will protect future generations from the worst effects of global warming while reducing our dependence on oil and creating clean energy jobs here at home.  We are hopeful that having come this far U.S. CAP will overtime move its position to comport with what scientists tell us we must to do prevent catastrophic global warming.”

Background:

• There is broad scientific agreement that keeping global average temperatures from increasing by more than another 2 degrees is necessary to avoid catastrophic effects of global warming.  According to the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we have a reasonable chance of meeting this objective if developed countries as a whole cut their emissions by 25-40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.  To be within this range, the United States would have to reduce its emissions by 35 percent from current levels by 2020 through a combination of aggressive domestic cuts and a robust program of international climate assistance.
   
•  A recent GAO report strongly criticized carbon offsets, saying “…the use of carbon offsets in a cap-and-trade system can undermine the system’s integrity, given that it is not possible to ensure that every credit represents a real, measurable, and long-term reduction in emissions.”  The report concludes, “…carbon offsets involve fundamental tradeoffs and may not be a reliable long-term approach to climate change mitigation.” 
  
•  Yesterday, NASA reported that 2008 was the ninth warmest year on record, and the 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1997.