Domenici Participates in Dialogue on Global Climate Change Solutions
Tuesday, April 4, 2006
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Pete Domenici today kicked off a broad effort to identify a path that will result in the development of policies and technological mechanisms to control greenhouse gas emissions.
Domenici's Energy and Natural Resources Committee today held a day long Climate Change Conference to discuss how Congress might go about creating a program to better control U.S. greenhouse emissions. Earlier this year, Domenici and Senator Jeff Bingaman issued a White Paper on climate change and invited interested parties to comment on it. More than 150 individuals and groups across the ideological spectrum on global climate change submitted input.
The White Paper produced by Domenici and Bingaman posed four questions:
* Who is regulated and where?
* Should allowances be free or auctioned?
* Should a U.S. system allow trading with other cap and trade systems around the work?
* Should a U.S. cap and trade system be conditioned on comparable action by developing nations?
"Today's conference on global climate change is an excellent way to begin consideration of a mechanism to control greenhouse gas emissions. This format has allowed individuals from vastly different perspectives to share their views and offer possible solutions. I look forward to the Energy Committee working toward a plan to this complex and serious problem," Domenici said.
In all, 29 individuals were invited to participate in person at the conference, with Senators able to engage in dialogue with those testifying.
The conference was broken down into four major aspects: Business Perspectives on Policy Design; Analysis of Domestic Design Options; Perspectives on Domestic Design; and Trading and International Competitiveness.
Individuals from a variety of backgrounds and point of views were invited to testify, including executives from major corporations such as General Electric and Shell, and advocacy groups like the Alliance to Save Energy and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
"Designing and implementing a mandatory system to curb greenhouse gas emissions will be politically and economically difficult. But we need to start somewhere, and this conference to exchange ideas is our starting point. I believe that a large number of our citizens are concerned about climate change and think their government should be involved in efforts to reduce our contribution of greenhouse gases, so we will proceed with that in mind," Domenici said.
http://domenici.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=253502