| Sourced From NewsTribune |
With support from the Obama administration, leading Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have introduced a bill that would establish the countrys first-ever curb on carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.
It is a remarkable paradox: At a time when productivity gains combined with new energy-efficient technologies are increasing the global competitiveness of U.S. merchandise, the plan to curb carbon dioxide emissions will have the opposite effect.
It will drive up energy costs significantly and slow our economy, while allowing developing countries to make massive amounts of money by selling their emission credits.
The most destructive effect of a carbon cap-and-trade scheme would be a severe blow to U.S. competitiveness. Among the hardest-hit industries would be chemical and paper companies, steel mills, oil refineries and aluminum and cement manufacturers. Many companies would move production to countries with limited carbon controls or none at all. The cost in dollars and forfeited jobs and revenue would be huge.
The push for carbon controls coincides with international negotiations that are under way on a new treaty on climate change. The objective is a new treaty by December. Government leaders are arguing for binding targets and timetables that would require the United States and other industrialized countries to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 40 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050.
But many scientists
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