CLIMATE WATC GIVE VOLUNTARY INDUSTRY INITIATIVES A CHANCE TO WORK, GCC TELLS SENATE CC members are committed to "actively seeking to participate in the [Climate Change Action] Plan?s programs where it makes economic sense to do so,? GCC Chairman ierry iasinowski told the Senate CLIMATE WATCH CONFERENCE PROMOTES NEW FOSSIL FUEL IMAGE )ssrl fuels are essential to the contin- ued success of the American econc? mv in creating jobs, remaining com- petitive and, consequently, ensuring environmental protection, GCC Executive Director john Shlaes told the audience at a understand that the results ot this debate and these negotiations will go tar hesond our efforts to clexelc'm more tuel?c-ttic rent autos or burn tuels more enrc ii-ntls l?olr- res will be debated and perhaps impler mentch that could dic tare trade polic res and Onc epts, rc'tlect growing ixipulation pressures. enhance scientitic and h- !xecutive Director?s Column CLIMATE CHANGE ALTERS INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL LANDSCAPE By John Shlaes recent Air 24. Waste Management Association conference on global Climate change. Fossil tuels account for almost 90 percent of total U.S. energy consumption and 85 percent of purchased energy used by manu- facturing industries, making fossil fuels "a valuable resource in driving our econOmy," according to Shlaes. ?Any new policy mea- sures l0 Our use that are not COST effective could significantly increase costs to our domestic industry and perhaps force manufacturing to look elsewhere fOr re- somces." The challenge, Shlaes concluded, is to continue to develop technologies that get the most out of fossil fuel resources while having the least possible effect on the envi- ronment . However, the economic consequences of dramatic reductions were only one aspect of the discussion of fossil fuels at the confer- ence. New scientific evidence presented by Dr. George Kukla of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Eanh Observatory suggests that the burning of fossil fuels may in fact be responsible for maintaining an essential atmospheric balance and that cutbacks in fossil fuel use may actually enhance the greenhouse effect. 0 Source: Arr Waste M116. 1994 (It. US ?trundth Energy and Natural Resources Committee on May to. He added that poorly timed evaluations of the plan could thwart its success and ieopardize the US. economy. lasinowski urged the committee not to judge the effectiveness of the plan?s voi- untary initiatives prematurely: "Many of the programs will have barely begun and some will not yet be under way when the Plan is reviewed next fall for in- corpOratton Intorhe TU. if adequate time is not allowed for the Climate Change Action Plan to work, the administration will give "critics of the partnership to re- new their cry for 'command and control? mandates,? iasinowski told senators. Restrictive mandates would hamper the US. economy and cannot be justified scienti?cally, he said. ?Current models, which cannot replicate the past climate changes, cannot be relied on for forecasting temperatures 50 to 100 years frOm administration should acknowledge that it will approach the need to resolve scientific uncertainty with the same level of urgency as its does its plans to monitor and evaluate progress on the Plan," iasinowski said. members' actions to reduce greenhouse gases: 'Eleven member trade associa- tions and companies have agreed to participate in the Green Lights program, 13 in the Motor Challenge program and seven in the Climate Challenge.? Jasinowski said the ?numbers are just the tip of the iceberg, since they do not include all the member companies of our trade association members who have agreed to participate.? 0 Copies olthe tsrimony can be obtained from the GCC. DOE, UTILITIES ANNOUNCE NEW INITIATIVES UNDER PROGRAM he Department of Energy and the Edison Electric Institute together are establishing five new industry-wide programs and nearly 50 other indi- vidual options in which utilities can participate as part of the Climate Challenge, a key component of the president?s Climate Change Action Plan. Among the central programs are: 0 vestment Pool, a limited partnership to market electrotechnologies and renew- able energy technologies developed by small companies; 0 jects that sequester carbon in trees and other plants, conserve energy by using trees fer shading and windbreaks, and reduce forest-related CO, emissions: 0 EV America, a multi-phase market demonstration program to promote the in- creased use of electric vehicles; 0 among the utility industry and governmental and international organizations to improve the operation and efficiertcy of foreign power plants and electric power systems, assist in privatization efforts, establish conservation and demand-side management programs, and encourage the use of renewable resources; and Corlimad on To illustrate indqu commitment, iasinowski cited a recent survey of GCC . the United Nations continues to move into new areas of ac - tivrty and influence, the climate hangc- Issue continue to be negotiated and debated against a rapidly hanging world of new relation? ships and economic instruments. These hanges will bring both increased interdependc-nc and ompeti- tron among nations. These changes can be viewed as a bellwether of the increas- ing globalization of economic and politi- cal activity that rs evolving in a volatile world. According to Peter Dicken in his recent book Cloba/Shir?t, ~It is in the manufacturing sector that major global ifts are most apparent.? U.S. manufac- ing, which represents almost a third of our GDP, is where, according to Dicken. "many of the developing countries look 0r wrongly) to stimulate the de- velopment of their economies." Against this backdrop, the climate issue is one of the most significant issues confronting business and the international commu- nity in the next several sears The framework (.omention on lirnate Change, which was negotiated in 1% short months and is not (turtc- two \r'ars old, already has led to a wrde range of new partnerships between business and the government, the UN. and its members, and preliminary relationships between developing and developed countries. Through the treaty, industn worldwide Will be facing new opportuni- ties and potentially new international reg- ulatory schemes, hile onfronting the challenges of viablv competing in a global economy, The economic, social and political challenges that all nations will confront as they attempt to put in place programs to develop their ec onomies and ide sustainable growth will be immense The climate change issue is one ot the tirst truly global policy issues that forces us to consider new approaches to the environ- ment, energy. economics, international regulation and competitiveness. We must ?aimatc Chalicngc? Canadian": 0 The National Earth Comfort Program a partnership among the utili- ties, heat pump manufacturers and the EPA to promote the use ofgeothermal heat pumps. EEI President Thomas Kuhn called the Climate Challenge initiatives 'a signifi- cant milestone. The Climate Challenge . . . shows that a voluntary program makes sense and can achieve meaning- ful reductions of greenhouse gases. It lso demonstrates that electric utilities, and electricity, can be part of the solu- tion to environmental issues.? 0 E?msm-mz Wand HIWMAW (eh-braid Earth Dar bt MURDOIJMIMMK nologs innovation, and improse the ll\- ing standards of dmeloping countries Furthermore, international organi/ations will be looking to take on new rolc-s- - inc ludmg some that were preuoush the sole domain or national gowrnments. \Ne all understand that the world and its organI/ing bodies are hanging How- ever, vu- mUst also remain aware ?it how our national interests In into global .ispi- rations .md how we are affected by inter- national regulation. Therefore, it is \ital that the limate debate haw input from all sectors of the new world ec onomy - er onomists, manufac turers, social sc ren- tists, trade experts and others, as well limate sc rentists . Developing Nations? Emissions Soar We "The who of this report to polii \makc-rs at the Lfnited Nations and in around the world is that it shatters the conventional wisdom that the L'nited States and other industrialized nations should shoulder the load or tuture emis- sions reductions "Fmissions are rising so raprdh in de- veloping nations that tits in the L'nrted States and other de\ eloped nations mas have no significant long-term impact on the global greenhouse talh Shlaes said The EIA report. entitled "Energv Use and Carbon Emissions: Some interna- tional Comparisons,~ is the lust in a series. 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