WASHINGTON - The US Senate's top Republican energy bill negotiator, risking a break with the White House over the global warming issue, on Friday said the United States must act to curb heat-trapping greenhouse gases.
Pete Domenici of New Mexico, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, "is convinced that the science now indicates that climate change is occurring and we need to do something about it," said his energy advisor Alex Flint. The stance is contrary to the Bush Administration's opposition to mandatory measures.
Domenici supports recommendations by the National Commission on Energy Policy (NCEP) for a mandatory cap-and-trade system starting in 2010, Flint said.
The system would set percentages by which US utilities must cut emissions of greenhouse gasses blamed for global warming. Non-compliant parties would be able to buy financial rights to exceed their share of the carbon dioxide limits.
The senator's support could change the calculus for Senate action on climate change. The chamber is expected to debate several climate change amendments next week, including the mandatory limits vehemently opposed by the White House.
The NCEP plan -- similar to an amendment that Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman will offer to wide-sweeping energy legislation next week -- calls for US utilities to cut the intensity of their greenhouse gas emissions by 2.4 percent a year starting in 2010. The percentage would rise to 2.8 percent starting in 2020.
"I think the (NCEP plan) is very much the middle ground on climate change right now," Flint said. "It may be the bipartisan consensus."
Domenici could co-sponsor Bingaman's amendment or some other version based on the NCEP plan, Flint said, adding that the senator has not yet made a firm decision.
The White House opposes mandatory carbon dioxide limits. President George W. Bush in 2001 pulled the United States out of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, citing its economic cost.
Bush has called for industry to voluntarily cut its greenhouse emissions intensity by 18 percent by 2012.
Domenici has met with senior administration officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, to try to find a solution, Flint said.
Domenici "is very cautious ... about creating a fissure in the Republican caucus and with the administration," Flint said.
A White House spokeswoman declined to comment specifically on Domenici's statement, and said Bush's policy "is to reduce growth of greenhouse gas intensity consistent with a policy of economic growth and protection of American jobs."
Domenici will likely need White House support to resolve looming differences between energy bills favored by the House of Representatives and the Senate -- including liability for makers of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), Flint said.
An energy bill passed by the House in April protects makers of the water-polluting fuel additive from some liability lawsuits, but such measures are not expected to be included in the Senate version.
Story by Chris Baltimore
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
