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Pathways to a “Green” Global Economic Recovery 21 May 2009
On 19 May 2009, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing entitled “Pathways to a 'Green' Global Economic Recovery.” Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) and Ranking Member Dick Luger (R-IN) invited Lord Nicholas Stern, Chair of the Gratham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Jim Rogers, President and CEO of Duke Energy to testify before the committee.
Chairman Kerry noted the “hearing comes at timely moment in our national climate change debate. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is considering a comprehensive climate change and energy bill that would reduce emissions by 83 percent by 2050—a bill with a real chance to become law.” He stated that “we really can't afford to delay” and noted that to ward off catastrophic events, the “green revolution needs to happen three times faster than the industrial revolution.” Chairman Kerry was very positive that creating green jobs and moving toward low-carbon industries would build the US economy, noting that green jobs pay seventeen percent more than the average median income.
Ranking Member Lugar also acknowledged the threat climate change poses, but felt a US policy on climate change sill not signify anything if an international climate change policy isn't agreed upon. He also stressed that any sort of climate policy would not be successful if the American public will not support it.
In his testimony, Sir Stern stated, “If applied in the right way, policies to tackle climate change present both short term benefits during the current global recession and underpin large and growing investment opportunities for decades to come.” The benefits of action greatly outweigh those of inaction. Furthermore, Sir Stern stressed that “risks ignored are risks magnified” and felt the current economic situation coupled with climate change presents a unique opportunity for the US. Noting that "the technology the US sets as standards will change the world", he believes the US can lead the way in green technologies and maintain its position as the economic world leader. If the US does not take immediate action and lead the way, other countries will benefit and emerge as new leaders.
Jim Rogers from Duke Energy agreed with Sir Stern. He stated that climate change legislation will not be free, easy, or quick, but it must be now. He endorsed the cap and trade legislation (H.R. 2454), noting that most current power plants will become obsolete by 2050. As such, now is the perfect time to either replace these plants with renewable sources of energy or to make the plants more efficient.
During the question and answer portion of the hearing, Chairman Kerry asked Mr. Rogers to name some imperatives that Duke Energy has identified that other utilities have not. In response, Rogers stated that the US can have aggressive timelines and targets for emissions reductions and that utilities and manufacturers, in fact, can achieve them. However, he noted that virtually every way in which we generate electricity needs technological advances. Both witnesses also mentioned a previous cap and trade scheme involving sulphur dioxide, under the Clean Air Act, which proved to be very successful, and had lower costs and faster results than predicted.
All parties expressed concern that communication is a vital piece of the equation and noted that, currently, the public is grossly uninformed about climate change and proposed policies to combat it. As an example of one method to increase public awareness, Sir Stern mentioned that Deutsche Bank will soon unveil a carbon counter billboard in Times Square.
Please visit the Witness Statements for more information.