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Bush prepares global warming initiative
Stephen Dinan, Washington Times
President Bush is poised to change course and announce as early as this week that he wants Congress to pass a bill to combat global warming, and will lay out principles for what that should include.
Specifics of the policy are still being fiercely debated, but Bush administration officials have told Republicans in Congress that they feel pressure to act now because they fear a coming regulatory nightmare. It would be the first time Mr. Bush has called for statutory authority on the subject.
“This is an attempt to move the administration and the party closer to the center on global warming. With these steps, it is hoped that the debate over this is over, and it is time to do something,” said an administration source close to the White House who is familiar with the planning and who said to expect an announcement this week.
The source requested anonymity to be able to speak on a sensitive matter still under debate. Given the arguments at the White House over the extent of the action to take, it is not clear exactly what Mr. Bush will propose, the adminstration source said.
(14 April 2008)
It looks like a leak from an insider to the right-wing Washington Times: a trial balloon? It would be surprising if anything substantial came from this.
Mmmm. Maybe something real is in the wind? … See the worried post President to cave on global warming? from anti-climate warrior Iain Murray of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI).
At Gristmill, David Roberts found a reference in today’s White House briefing. -BA
Bush to State Climate Goals Wednesday
Andrew C. Revkin, Dot Earth blog, New York Tims
In Rose Garden speech planned for Wednesday, President Bush is set to lay out for the first time a specific long-term goal for limiting the atmospheric buildup of greenhouse gases linked to global warming and some means the United States will use to reach it.
… While there has been some talk that Mr. Bush is considering an eventual goal of halving emissions by 2050, no firm number has been disclosed today. (European leaders are pursuing at least a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050 measured from a 1990 baseline.) But Mr. Bush will spell out some new steps, including incentives to speed the adoption of non-polluting energy technologies, the White House said.
He also plans to say that no legislation percolating in Congress is acceptable to the administration. On Tuesday at the White House press “gaggle,” Dana Perino, the White House press secretary, also hinted that Mr. Bush is frustrated with recent attempts by states and environmental groups to use existing laws to try to force limits on carbon dioxide through the courts.
… Some environmental campaigners had already prepared talking points if his proposal included outlines of a weak climate bill. The rumors Tuesday were that the speech would include a plan to eventually slow, stop and reverse emissions of carbon dioxide from power plants.
David D. Doniger, the head of the climate program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said that would have put the president right back where he was eight years ago, when – on the campaign trail – he pledged to restrict carbon dioxide along with other pollutants from power plants.
(15 April 2008)
Economists Weigh McCain’s Gas-Tax Plan
Jad Mouawad, New York Times (blog)
On the face of it, John McCain’s proposal to offer a gasoline tax “holiday” during the summer driving season might sound like a good way to cut gas prices at the busiest time of the year.
But economists and energy analysts say it would have little impact on mitigating the rise in gasoline prices. In fact, it could lead to the opposite result.
The federal gasoline tax represents a flat fee of 18.4 cents a gallon nationwide. With gasoline currently averaging $3.39 a gallon, the tax represents a mere 5 percent of today’s pump price. While that’s not trivial, consider that gasoline prices have more than doubled since 2004.
The problem is that lowering gasoline prices at the pump would encourage more consumption. So in the long run, it would push prices up.
… The United States the has lowest gasoline taxes among industrialized countries. It also has the highest gasoline consumption level in the world. Energy experts say the two are related.
America’s cars and trucks burn nearly one out of every nine barrels of oil produced around the world each day. The country also accounts for a quarter of global oil demand.
(15 April 2008)
The Oil Drummers are dubious:
McCain wants a gas tax “holiday.” It’s a no-brainer, right? by Jerome a Paris
McCain’s Gas Pains: Gas “Tax Holidays” A Good Idea? by JoulesBurn.
Advisers To Presidential Candidates Discuss Energy, Climate Policies (video)
Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) via Energy Policy TV
The three advisers to the 2008 presidential candidates describe their respective candidate’s energy, environmental and climate change policies should their candidate be elected president.
(11 April 2008)
