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Ill-Considered Climate Change Policies Could Hurt Competitiveness and
Environment Says Industry Group
March 1, 1993, Washington, DC...Unilateral
_ _activities by the United States on global
- -- Enctitiveness and the environment, the Global Climate
climate change could hurt U.S
Coalition (GCC) told Congress today.
Testifying before the House Subcommittee on Economic Policy, Trade and the
Environment, GCC Chairman Michael Baroody said "Proceeding on a unilateral basis to
stabilize or reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in the absence of an international agreement
applicable to all nations emitting greenhouse gases and with an effective enforcement
mechanism, could place U.S. industry at a competitive disadvantage in world markets and
could harm our nation's economy."
"A strong and growing U.S. economy and a robust industrial sector are prerequisites to
addressing domestic and international environmental challenges. Ill-considered policy
responses to issues such as climate change would ultimately hamstring our ability to
respond to pressing energy and environmental challenges," said Baroody, who also is
Senior Vice President of the National Association of Manufacturers. Baroody testified
today on current U.S. policy on global climate change, and specifically on whether the
U.S. National Action Plan (NAP), as submitted late last year to the United Nations in
accordance with climate treaty obligations, should be restructured or expanded.
MORE

 Recent studies conclude that restricting greenhouse gas emissions to 1988 levels by 2010
could: 1) reduce the Gross Domestic Product by 1.5 to 2 percent;
2) cost as many as 500,000 jobs; and 3) increase the price of electricity by 50-60 percent
in the industrial sector of the U.S. economy, according to GCC.
Since scientists are still far from certain that man-made greenhouse gases are contributing
to global climate change, Baroody suggested that these massive economic dislocations
might, in the end, be totally unnecessary.
"There is neither an obligation nor a compelling reason for the administration to
re5tructure thie U.S. NAP at this Icitae,!: Daroody Said. "The Global Climate Coalition
„r
believes that command and control measures, such as targets and timetables, are
unnecessary and should be avoided in any national action plan." Baroody added that the
U.S. NAP could be updated to reflect changes in U.S. laws and policies as well as
voluntary actions by industry that will cut greenhouse gas emissions in years and decades
ahead. Significant emissions reductions are expected to result from the recently passed
Energy Policy Act, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and EPA's Green Lights
program.
The group called for a comprehensive, international approach to the global climate change
issue. By 2050, nearly 77 percent of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions resulting
from human activity will come from developing countries, according to Baroody. The
group believes that the transfer of efficient, clean technologies to developing countries is a
crucial element of any international agreement.
In his testimony, Baroody also emphasized this country's continued ieadership role. The
United States was the first nation to ratify the Framework Convention, the climate treaty
signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. To date only 10 other countries have
ratified the Convention. Thirty-nine additional countries must take action for the Convention to take effect. Some observers estimate that this will not occur until well into 1994.
The Global Climate Coalition is a broad-based organization of business trade associations
and companies representing virtually all elements of U.S. industry, including the energyproducing and energy-consuming sectors.
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