Greenpeace Opposes Waxman-Markey

In advance of tomorrow's vote on the American
Clean Energy and Security Act in the House of Representatives,
Greenpeace USA Deputy Campaigns Director Carroll Muffett issued the
following statement:

"Since
the Waxman-Markey bill left the Energy and Commerce committee, yet
another fleet of industry lobbysists has weakened the bill even more,
and further widened the gap between what Waxman-Markey does and what
science demands. As a result, Greenpeace opposes this bill in its
current form. We are calling upon Congress to vote against this bill
unless substantial measures are taken to strengthen it. Despite
President Obama's assurance that he would enact strong, science-based
legislation, we are now watching him put his full support behind a bill
that chooses politics over science, elevates industry interests over
national interest, and shows the significant limitations of what this
Congress believes is possible.
"As it comes to the floor, the Waxman-Markey bill sets emission
reduction targets far lower than science demands, then undermines even
those targets with massive offsets. The giveaways and preferences in
the bill will actually spur a new generation of nuclear and coal-fired
power plants to the detriment of real energy solutions. To support such
a bill is to abandon the real leadership that is called for at this
pivotal moment in history. We simply no longer have the time for
legislation this weak.

"With many others in the environmental, faith and consumer rights
communities, Greenpeace has expressed tremendous concern about the role
of offsets in this legislation. Unless strictly controlled, the abuse
of offsets could prevent real emission reductions for more than a
decade. The decision to move authority over offsets from EPA to the
Department of Agriculture further reduces the likelihood that such
controls will be maintained and increases the likelihood they will
undermine real reductions.

This legislation sends a strong and unmistakable signal to the
world that the United States is not yet ready to show the leadership
necessary to reach a strong agreement at Copenhagen in December.
Already, we are seeing the impact of this signal as one country after
another retreats from the aggressive targets needed to avoid
catastrophic climate change.

We call on the Congress to reject this bill and begin immediate and
urgent work on legislation that treats seriously the dire threat of
climate change. We call on President Obama to move beyond rhetoric and
deliver on his commitments to "restore science to its proper place" and
to lead the world in addressing climate change.