Climate legislation: not dead yet

Naysayers have an agenda, and it’s not reducing greenhouse gas emissions

You’d think from the following quotes that comprehensive climate and energy policy in the Senate is dead as a doornail:

“I don’t think that the House bill that passed will even be considered this year in the Senate.”

And:

“There is so much on the plates of politicians and regulators in the United States it is hard for me to envisage a strong movement to have a cap and trade system in place in the next eight or nine months.”

And:

“I would worry if we tried to push it through in this environment we would end up with a very incomplete solution, and I think it is more important that we are thoughtful about it and if we do it, we do it correctly.”

The first quote (subscription required) is from that stalwart defender of the environment, Tom Donahue, President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Donahue continues to dissemble about his intention to kill climate legislation: “We are in search of a solid domestic bill, whether its cap and trade or cap and carbon tax or however these things are put together. We just don’t want a bill like the one that came out of the House.”

The second two were uttered by the vice chairman for General Electric Co., John Rice. Rice even says that he’s interested in a “thoughtful” solution, though he fails to elaborate on what that might be.

Don’t listen to this narrative. Listen to the key Senators crafting this historic legislation (Kerry, Graham, Lieberman). Oh, and for those on the left trying to sabotage cap and trade in favor of a carbon tax, consider this quote from Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC): “A carbon tax has no support in Congress.”

Image by Flickr user technochick.