[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 21]
[House]
[Page 27992]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             GLOBAL WARMING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 4, 2005, the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. The World Meets to Solve Global Warming. 
U.S. on Sidelines. U.S. Won't Join in Binding Climate Talks.
  These are news flashes from the Montreal Conference this weekend on 
global warming. Countries from around the world met in Montreal to 
address the issue of global warming. Where was the United States and 
the Bush administration? On the sidelines, out of commission, not 
willing to forward a plan or proposal on the far-reaching challenge of 
our time.
  The Bush administration has its head in the sand. For most of its 
time in office, this administration has refused to recognize there is 
even a problem. Recently they acknowledged that man's burning of fossil 
fuels is warming the Earth but refused to take concrete action. When 
President Clinton was invited to speak to the conference, the U.S. team 
threatened to boycott.
  President Bush, wake up. The countries of the world are leaving you 
behind. President Bush, our country needs a leader who will protect our 
children's future.
  Since 1990, we have seen the 10 warmest years in history. Before our 
eyes, ice caps are melting, glaciers are shrinking, oceans are warming, 
and sea levels are rising. Scientists tell us we can expect more 
extreme storms, higher intensity hurricanes, more severe droughts, and 
other dramatic climate changes. We must act now to protect our 
children. We must act now to leave our children a better world.
  Carbon dioxide emissions must be brought under control. We know how 
to do this. We have specific ways to act now. We have the technology. 
One hundred fifty-seven countries are already imposing mandatory limits 
on CO2 while the Bush administration stonewalls any 
mandatory scheme. We can take steps now to reduce greenhouse gas 
emissions but we must do so in a way that would minimize the impact to 
our economy. We must implement an economy-wide, upstream, all 
greenhouse gas cap-and-trade emissions reduction program that provides 
some flexibility and a measure of certainty to those industries and 
businesses affected.
  The National Commission on Energy Policy, a bipartisan group of top 
experts, recommends such an approach. One of the key components of 
their proposal is the concept of a safety valve for the cap-and-trade 
program. The safety valve essentially puts a price on carbon but 
provides for an unlimited number of allowances to be sold by the 
government. Since no one would pay more than what the government 
charges for allowances, this mechanism effectively controls the price 
of allowances. When set at the right price, the safety valve would 
start the country down the path of slowing the growth of greenhouse gas 
emissions without causing serious economic disruption.

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