GHG Daily
1/28/2016
The bipartisan energy package being considered by the Senate this week is lacking in a crucial area, according to Environmental Defense Fund Action President Elizabeth Thompson. “The Senate is pursuing energy legislation without the benefit of a congressional plan to reduce climate pollution. Coal, oil and natural gas emissions are responsible for 84 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions which makes energy legislation an essential component of the nation’s climate strategy,” Thompson said in a statement Wednesday.
Not enough is known about the environmental impacts of the bill, which is the first comprehensive legislative energy package in nearly 10 years, Thompson argued. “Passing an energy bill while ignoring climate change is like passing a budget bill without knowing whether it adds to the deficit. Without information on climate impacts and a plan to address those impacts, Congress will deliver an energy bill that could do as much harm as good,” she said. “EDF is disappointed that in the months since the bill passed out of committee, the Energy and Natural Resources Chair [Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska.)] did not have the bill scored for its climate pollution impacts so members could make an informed vote.”
