Energy Biz - September/October 2008 - (Page 28) » Financial Front Squaring Off on energy PRESidENTiAL CANdidATES OFFER diFFERENT APPROACHES By KEN SiLvERSTEiN energy Topics are lighTing up the campaign trail. The discussions, no doubt, will enlighten Americans and influence their votes in November. Some clear distinctions exist between the presidential candidates and the winner will invariably create long-lasting changes in Washington and abroad. Both the Republican and Democratic nominees have independent streaks. But the reality is that John McCain and Barack Obama must each unify their respective party’s base. As such, they are each likely to stand by long-held positions on important issues such as increasing drilling rights for natural gas producers and easing the nuclear plant construction process. Both candidates, however, have staked claims to environmental prudence and are therefore pushing for the use of more renewable energy as well as limits on greenhouse gas emissions that are believed to be tied to global warming. “There has been a major shift in the global business community – from denial to acceptance and now to active engagement in public policy on the climate issue,” says Eileen Claussen, president of the nonpartisan Pew Center on Global Climate Change. “And it is a shift that I believe bodes well for national and international action to protect the climate in the months and years ahead.” Indeed, the think tank says that both candidates would be forceful leaders when it comes to protecting the environment and specifically the desire to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Along those lines, each has explicitly called attention to the country’s reliance on fossil fuels that are responsible for the preponderance of such gases. Sen. McCain, the Republican nominee from Arizona, has written legislation that would require the United States to reduce such emissions by 70 percent by 2050 – a move that concerns some manufacturers, who say that this is a knee-jerk reaction to a problem that may not exists but which will cost billions to remedy. His bill would curb emissions by placing mandatory caps on heat-trapping emissions, although it would still allow those companies that exceed the limits to buy credits from those who meet them. September/October 2008 It’s a position that veers from that of the Bush administration, which has long said that mandatory rules are unwise until the technologies to guarantee that reductions will occur become prevalent. Until then, President Bush has said that voluntary efforts are best. McCain is differentiating himself from that thinking and has aired television ads showing environmental destruction followed by a proclamation that the candidate has been sounding the alarm on global warming for five years. “The next president must be willing to break with the energy policies not just of the current administration, but the administrations that preceded it, and lead a great national campaign to achieve energy security for America,” McCain said in a speech. Like his opponent, McCain supports increased funding for renewable energy and conservation, although the two differ over whether to permit more drilling for oil and gas. inGrained thinkinG Sen. Obama, the Democratic nominee from Illinois, says that McCain’s apparent concern for the environment is undermined by the fact that he now supports more offshore drilling for oil and natural gas – commodities that, when burned, would end up creating more greenhouse gas emissions. If global warming is real, then Obama’s camp says that public policy must encourage green energy policies that would come at the expense of those that support traditional fossil fuel usage. Obama’s sentiments are now prevalent in the Democratic Party. But critics say that he fails to comprehend that Americans vote their pocketbooks, which means that record-high energy prices are causing citizens here to support more drilling. In fact, a Gallup Poll report says that 57 percent would favor increased access to areas offshore as well as to wilderness regions such as those in Alaska. But those same respondents insist that developers must adhere to strict environmental guidelines. Obama angered some of his supporters in early August when he said he would support limited offshore drilling, which he previously opposed, if it would help advance passage of a comprehensive energy policy that boosts alternate energy sources and conversion to more fuel-efficient transportation. Fears over global warming have affected decisions over whether to construct coal plants. Of the 150 coal facilities that were in the planning stages in 2005, many have been put on hold while at least 16 of those won’t get built at all. The main reason is 28 E n E rgyB i z
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