[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 14 (Thursday, February 14, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S843]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S843]]
            PRESIDENT BUSH'S NEW APPROACH TO CLIMATE CHANGE

  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, this afternoon President Bush outlined a 
new approach to climate change for this Nation, and I believe for the 
world.
  The President has thoughtfully tackled the emotionally charged issue 
of climate change and focused us in a pragmatic way. I believe this is 
a demonstration of leadership.
  He has thoroughly considered the existing scientific evidence, which 
remains inconclusive, and determined that a slow and cautious approach 
to stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions is the most prudent policy.
  I and many of my colleagues in the Senate have worked hard for years 
on this challenging issue and wholeheartedly concur with the 
President's decision.
  The President's determination to aggressively pursue answers to many 
critical scientific questions and his concern about the effects of 
action on American jobs and our economy are well balanced.
  The proposed actions in the President's plan will be effective in 
giving us the change we need. The voluntary nature of these proposals 
provides needed flexibility to achieve substantial reductions in 
emissions.
  The President has outlined a strategy that incorporates incentives 
and opportunity for creative ways to achieve those reductions.
  The President's plan also thoughtfully addresses the critical need to 
actively engage developing countries.
  I have stated in the past that American policy should recognize the 
legitimate needs of our bilateral trading partners to use their 
resources and meet the needs of their people.
  For too long the climate policy debate has been fixated on assigning 
blame and inflicting pain. The President clearly recognizes that this 
is harmful and counterproductive.
  His plan will make our best technology available to developing 
countries and will refocus American research activities on developing 
country needs as well as our own.
  During this Congress and the last I, along with many of my 
colleagues, worked diligently to construct a framework for national 
consensus on this issue. The legislation that I and several of my 
colleagues introduced was organized around the central notion of ``risk 
management.''
  The President's approach is fully consistent with that notion.
  It develops a ``long-term'' strategy;
  It quantifies risk by improving scientific research programs;
  It develops tools to improve energy efficiency and find ways to 
sequester carbon by funding a comprehensive R&D program;
  It removes disincentives by removing barriers to deployment of energy 
technology; and
  It encourages a global solution by aggressively pursuing 
international technology transfer programs.
  The benefits of the President's approach are broad-based, as they 
must always be.
  It employs a least-cost path to emissions goals by using energy 
technology and incentives;
  It yields real emissions reductions by improving the emission 
reduction registry currently monitored by the DOE;
  It strengthens the hands of U.S. negotiators by implementing 
significant domestic action;
  It is more than just CO2--it encourages reductions of emissions of 
methane and other more powerful greenhouse gases;
  It focuses on more than just the electric power sector by including 
the agriculture, forestry, transportation industries;
  It sends the right market signals by focusing on innovation, 
investment in new technology--not prescriptive regulation; and
  It maintains policy flexibility--our future policy response can 
respond to changing knowledge on technology, understanding of climate 
impacts and risk.
  President Bush, I believe, has offered us leadership, and I thank him 
for it, by setting for our Nation a safe, prudent, and responsible path 
toward resolving this issue.
  I hope all of my colleagues in the Senate, especially those who have 
shown great concern about climate change, join with me and seize the 
opportunity that our President has given us to move constructively, 
without rancor, to offer up the best technology, the best science, and 
to bring our country together--not to divide our country--and to 
continue to progressively achieve, in a recognizable and measurable 
way, reduction in greenhouse gases as we have done over the last 
decade, and to do so without damaging our economy.
  I believe that is what President Bush has laid before this Nation 
today, and the world: A pragmatic and realistic challenge of leadership 
as it relates to addressing the question of climate change in an 
understandable fashion and a manageable approach.
  I yield the floor.

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