Lugar takes best shot at energy plan

http://www.indystar.com/article/20100605/OPINION08/6050325/1291/OPINION08/Lugar-takes-best-shot-at-energy-plan


Our Opinion--Indianapolis Star
Posted: June 5, 2010


There should be no doubt that the United States needs an energy and climate policy, just as there should be no expectation of a perfect law to that effect -- one that satisfies industry, environmentalists, consumers and legislators from states with varying fossil-fuel dependency.

Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., seeks to address both realities with a bill to be introduced next week aimed at wooing colleagues whose support is lacking for the Democratic plan of the moment.

With polls showing weak popular regard for cap-and-trade, and with votes lacking from coal-state Democrats as well as Republicans, the Kerry-Lieberman bill appears permanently stalled. This, despite concessions to energy companies and coal-dependent states, made at the cost of alienating many environmental groups.

Lugar's bill will not please those who insist on tough immediate mandates for cutting emissions and raising the proportion of energy drawn from renewable sources. It does advance the discussion, however, by emphasizing conservation, nuclear power and the phase-out of aging coal-powered generating plants. It tends to subordinate long-term economies to existing jobs and utility rate restraint, but Lugar insists there's no ultimate conflict.

"It's more practical," says his spokesman, Andy Fisher. "It saves consumers money. It fixes the leaks (in building design and construction). It goes after efficiencies, which are the low-hanging fruit here. Ergo: emissions reduction."

Reduction of oil imports is another key feature, striking at the worst culprit in the nation's trade deficit as well as a prime threat to its security. Whether the teeth are there to meet Lugar's goal of a 68 percent reduction by 2030 is a burning question. Half the job would be done via vehicle fuel efficiency -- for the most part, extending current federal standards but with various waiver options. When Lugar himself is pointing out that oil imports account for half the trade deficit, and twice the deficit with China, stronger measures may have to be in a final package.

China, incidentally, is racing ahead in the green energy business, in which Lugar likewise takes a carrot-rather-than-stick approach. He stresses incentives and state choice, rather than a national standard, for the share of the pie taken up by alternative fuels. Many states (not yet Indiana) already have set their own bars.
How much federal muscle is needed to augment state initiatives and market forces toward balanced energy usage remains to be decided. Lugar's bill will not constitute an energy policy, but it could help form a foundation for one by getting the most out of the politics that prevail.

BACKGROUND

Sen. Lugar to propose climate bill alternative


Wed, Jun 2 2010

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior Republican in the Senate next week will propose energy and climate legislation that aims to cut emissions of planet-warming gases, but with far lower goals than President Barack Obama seeks.

Senator Richard Lugar, whose home state of Indiana relies heavily on dirty-burning coal to power electric utilities, is crafting legislation he says would achieve about half of the 17 percent cut from 2005 levels in carbon emissions by 2020 proposed by Obama.

At international negotiations on tackling global warming, many countries already are criticizing the United States, saying the 17 percent goal is too meek to be effective.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration has said the country's carbon dioxide emissions, which represent about 80 percent of overall greenhouse gases, have already fallen more than 9 percent since 2005. The recession has played a role, along with heavier reliance on natural gas and more efficient use of fuels.

Lugar's legislation would cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions through a mix of better fuel efficiency for vehicles, using more renewable fuels for those cars, making new homes and commercial buildings more energy efficient and expanding nuclear power generation.

For heavy-polluting coal-fired power plants, they would be excused from investing in expensive scrubbers over the next few years and in return would voluntarily retire the plants in 2020.

Absent from Lugar's bill will be any new "cap and trade" system for carbon pollution permits, an idea that anchors climate change legislation passed nearly a year ago by the House of Representatives and included in a draft bill presented by senators John Kerry and Joseph Lieberman on May 12.

The pollution permits to be traded would put a price on carbon dioxide emissions. That price would rise over the next four decades so that utilities, factories and car companies would have incentives to switch to cleaner-burning fuels.

"Lugar's bill is a main alternative to the divisive cap-and-trade approach," said a press release announcing next week's bill introduction.

NEW URGENCY

Republicans and some Democrats fear that such a mandatory program for cutting carbon emissions would significantly raise consumer prices and result in job losses -- a conclusion challenged by some economic analyses.

In a speech at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Obama placed new urgency on the need for Congress to pass an energy and climate bill.

More specifically, Obama said "putting a price on carbon pollution" was necessary. "The votes may not be there right now, but I intend to find them in the coming months," he said about legislation that has been stuck in the Senate.

The BP oil spill plaguing the Gulf of Mexico has brought new calls from Obama and Kerry to pass legislation promptly.

But the spill, which has gone uncontrolled since April 20, also has hurt Senate prospects. While some Republicans want the climate bill to also expand offshore oil drilling, they know that the timing of such an initiative could not be worse.

As the senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Lugar has voiced fears that global warming could present a national security threat to the United States as drought in poor countries destabilizes governments.

Also next week, the Senate is set to vote June 10 on a move to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gas pollution. The outcome of that vote could have a bearing on how the Senate approaches climate change legislation.

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)


This article brought to you by the Indiana Renewable Energy Association. Tell us what you think about Sen. Lugar's energy plan.