27-07-04

Democrats meeting in Boston to nominate Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry as their candidate for president are promising to support coal as a key domestic fuel for power generation and say the party would "move beyond OPEC" by diversifying sources of oil in the US and abroad. The party also calls for investing billions of dollars in technologies to generate electricity with less pollution.

"We believe coal must continue its important role in a new energy economy, while achieving high environmental standards," the 2004 Democratic National Platform Committee Report says.

In addition to low-emission coal technology, the platform says a Kerry White House would invest in hydrogen power. It supports "mandatory, enforceable reliability standards" and creation of public-private partnerships to create more flexible and resilient power systems that are environmentally friendly. The party also vows to strengthen the Clean Air Act's controls on major polluters, reduce mercury emissions, smog and acid rain and address climate change.

The platform promises to "work with the private sector to create partnerships that make a profit and a cleaner world for us all." On oil, the platform promises to encourage "more diverse sources of oil around the world and here at home."

The party supports "balanced development of domestic oil supplies in areas already open for exploration, like the Western and Eastern Gulf of Mexico" and supports expansion of "new infrastructure to develop supplies from non-OPEC nations like Russia, Canada and nations in Africa."

The platform also says Democrats would increase the "efficiency of natural gas use, develop the Alaska natural gas pipeline and enhance our nation's infrastructure to help supply natural gas more effectively." yet the platform reiterates Democrats' reluctance to open federal lands for energy development, saying that while it would "use our natural resources to fuel our economy," it would "end Republican giveaways to special interests that exploit public lands without regard to environmental consequences."

Source: Agence France Presse