Richard Lugar
“I don’t see any climate bill on the table right now that I can support,” Sen. Richard Lugar said on Nov. 10, dashing any hopes that he might get behind some version of the Kerry-Boxer legislation that’s moving through the Senate. “We really have to start from scratch again,” he continued.
Lugar has been leaning this way for some time. The first week of November, he joined with other Republicans in demanding a more in-depth EPA analysis of the Kerry-Boxer bill; the Republicans insist they need more info on the bill’s potential economic impacts, while Democrats accuse them of trying to stall the process.
In September, Lugar noted the dangers posed by climate change and said the U.S. must reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, but criticized the Waxman-Markey climate bill that passed in House in June. “To give the impression that somehow the Senate must pass a bill comparable to the House, or anything in that ballpark, seems to me is not a very good idea and is one I’m likely to oppose,” the senator said. Lugar argued that the bill would penalize coal-dependant states like Indiana, which gets more than 90 percent of its electricity from coal.
Asked what kind of climate bill he could support, Lugar responded, “I frankly don’t know, although I’m deeply interested in this.” But he has indicated that he would prefer to focus on energy efficiency and investment in renewables rather than cap-and-trade. “The real way of approaching this is through conservation, through building modification, through the change in how electricity is delivered,” he said. “Leaving aside cap-and-trade and some very large federal legislation which, in my judgment, is not going to make much difference in CO2 for 20 years, we can make a difference now.”
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Here’s more on Lugar and climate, as written by Kate Sheppard on August 24, 2009:
In 2006, Sen. Richard Lugar’s Indiana tree farm purchased credits on the Chicago Climate Exchange, a good indication that he realizes federal climate policy is coming down the pike. He voted for the Climate Stewardship Act in 2003 and 2005, but voted against cloture on the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act last year. This year, he’s a key swing vote on climate legislation.
As the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, Lugar has been outspoken about the need for the U.S. to become more energy independent and address climate change.
“We should recognize that energy issues are at the core of most major foreign policy, economic, and environmental issues today. Technological breakthroughs that expand clean energy supplies for billions of people worldwide will be necessary for sustained economic growth,” Lugar said at a January hearing on international climate challenges. “In the absence of revolutionary changes in energy policy that are focused on these technological advancements, we will be risking multiple hazards for our country that could constrain living standards, undermine our foreign policy goals, and leave us highly vulnerable to economic, political, and environmental disasters with an almost existential impact.”
“The United States should recognize that steps to address climate change involve economic opportunities, not just constraints,” he continued.
But Lugar has been adamant that any climate strategy should be part of a global effort, and big developing countries like China and India should be compelled to participate.
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He has also expressed concern about the transparency and enforcement of cap-and-trade, as well as its potential costs for coal-dependent states like Indiana. And he wants biofuels and adaptation efforts to play a larger role in climate policy.
Lugar has downplayed the prospects of passing a climate bill in the Senate in 2009. Approving a plan to reduce emissions is “a tough sell to people who are in a recession and whose light bills are going up,” Lugar said in June. “The votes just haven’t been there, and I’m not sure they are now.”
Do you know more about this senator’s stance on climate legislation? Tell us.
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Comments
View as Flat
Delay And Deny Posted 11:20 pm
24 Aug 2009
6 hydrogen fueling stations around London in the run up to the 2012
Olympics. This hydrogen highway system around London and beyond would
emulate the system started in California." RUMOR: Toyota now running commercial promoting hydrogen fuel cell vehicle"A person just told me that he saw a Toyota commercial promoting the
company’s hydrogen fuel cell vehicle on CNBC about 30 minutes ago." Chu-Obama out of touch...hiding in vineyards:Hydrogen Energy Future : Honda Gets It, GM CEO Obama Doesn't
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Biodiversivist Posted 9:36 am
25 Aug 2009
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isaacschumann Posted 9:18 am
13 Nov 2009
the pretentious and condescending attitudes that you show are the primary reason that nothing will be done on climate change in the foreseeable future. i live in indiana and people here are near universal in their support for wind energy and opposition to CAFO's, which we are building quite alot of both. i tend to see the most committed opposition to wind energy in supposed "liberal" states such as new york, where ted kennedy's constituents dont want it to ruin their ocean views, pathetic. some of the lowest rates of vaccination of children can be found in lily white, rich, marin county california. (vaccination rates are generally speaking, inversely proportional to education, they choose to believe climate science but not evil western medicine?) at least indiana can manage its finances, californians cant do basic math, you can have low taxes and low services, or high taxes and lots of services, not both.
were trying to build a consensus for action on climate change, how does this help but to reassure all of the smug activists of the rightness of their cause, making them even more smug and condescending, while further convincing the rest of us what arrogant blowhards you all are. im for climate change action, but comments like that make me want to buy hummer out of sheer spite. the amazing thing is why supposedly "enlightened" chaps such as yourself think this would be a useful way to build consensus on this issue. climate change legislation is not being blocked by 7.4% of the population, its being blocked by roughly two thirds to one half of americans who dont believe that "additional, drastic action" or even just "additional action" are needed on climate change. (http://www.gallup.com/poll/106660/little-increase-americans-global-warming-worries.aspx) hmmm, i wonder why there is so much skepticism of global warming action? could it be the barely contained loathing and disrespect that most climate activists show for the majority of their compatriots?
good riddance
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megansgreen Posted 4:07 pm
18 Nov 2009
I will agree with the previous responder on this issue. As a Hoosier myself, I take great offense to your statements about the state, and especially the condescending tone. I have chosen to live in Indiana and am not native by birth, thus said, I find Hoosiers to be among the most generous and kind people I have met anywhere (which is saying something, since I have traveled in over 20 countries and many states in the US). The Midwestern hospitality is often overlooked by people living on the coasts (and even people such as yourself, the self-described "escapist") and in all my travels it is states and places like Indiana that have the most "green" living practices. Nowhere but the Midwest and select portions of Northern California have I seen so many backyard gardens, energy conservation, and a true care for the land. Farmers and gardeners know their land better than environmentalists, and since it is so tied to their living and livelihood there is a deep and abiding interest in its perpetuation.
Sir, please think twice before you lump and categorize people in this manner. As the previous commenter has said, it only serves to divide, not unite, against an issue we all should care about.
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megaloptera Posted 12:35 pm
09 Sep 2009
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