"Thank you for contacting me regarding the need to address global climate change. We are in complete agreement on this important matter.
Climate change is a very serious problem- not just for our environment, but for our economy and our national security, as well- and the way we produce and consume energy is making the problem worse. We need to pass legislation to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and transition to a clean energy economy. To do that, we will have to build a broad coalition.
To succeed, a bill will need diverse support, which means bringing everyone to the table and really listening to what they have to say. We have to sit down with the environmental community, the business community, and the scientific community. We have to talk to Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle about how best to address this crucial issue. For months, I have done exactly that, and I am working to bring my colleagues together to pass climate legislation this year.
This could be a watershed moment. We have near scientific unanimity that humans are causing climate change, we have a Congress poised to take action, and we have a President pushing for progress. In his inaugural address, President Obama told us "each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet." He is absolutely right, and I look forward with the President to: (1) promote energy innovation so that we can produce and consume energy more cleanly and efficiently; (2) protect energy consumers from rising power prices; (3) prepare our communities to respond to the impacts of climate change; and (4) create jobs as we transition toward a clean energy economy. I also support including provisions in climate change legislation that would ensure a cap-and-trade system does not increase the deficit.
Climate legislation should improve our environment and grow our economy at the same time. In these tough financial times, some have asked whether it makes sense to focus on the environment. The fact is, ignoring climate change until our economic situation improves will ultimately be far more expensive -and destructive- than taking steps to address it now. Left unabated, its impacts will ravage coastlines and coastal communities, destroy large swaths of roadways and railways, and seriously degrade land resources and biodiversity. Additionally, climate-induced droughts will cause famine, threatening already scarce resources and further destabilizing developing nations that are unable to quicly adapt. Every day we fail to reform our energy habits, we guarantee the solution will be far more expensive; and if we wait much longer, there may be no solution.
I am working hard to ensure that we are able to pass climate change legislation this year. Every year we fail to act, the problem intensifies; and the solution grows dramatically more expensive. I believe that broad bipartisan support is essential to passing a bill, and so I am working with my colleagues in both parties and all parts of the country to reach consensus on a number of issues we view as essential to adressing global warming effectively.
As you may know, on April 17, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a preliminary findnig that carbon dioxide emissions harm human health and welfare. Though the finding has not been finalized, if and when it is, EPA will be able to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. One option the agency will have for doing so will be to set reduction targets. I believe strongly that cap-and-trade would be a better approach. It allows businesses to comply with the reduction targets in the most economically efficient way possible, which, in turn, helps keep American-made goods competitive and keeps energy prices down.
Thank you again for sharing your views and concerns with me. I hope you will continue to visit my website at http://lieberman.senate.gov for updated news about my work on behalf of Connecticut and the nation. Please contact me if you have any additional questions or comments about our work in Congress.
Sincerely,
Joseph I. Lieberman
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