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Thursday, December 8, 2005
(NOTE: This is an official side event and is listed in the UNFCCC schedule. A webcast of the event is also available.)
- Philip Sharp - President, Resources for the Future (RFF) (Moderator)
- Michelle Manion - Climate and Energy Program Manager, Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM)
- Dallas Burtraw - Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future (RFF)
- Jonathan Pershing - Director, Program in Climate, Energy and Pollution, World Resources Institute (WRI)
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| This event, co-sponsored by Resources for the Future, the World Resources Institute, and the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management, focuses on recent developments with respect to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cooperative effort by northeastern and mid-Atlantic states to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. |
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Tuesday, December 6, 2005
(Photo by the International Institute for Sustainable Development.)
Featuring:
- Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico)
- Kevin Fay,
Executive Director, International Climate Change Partnership
- Christopher Walker,
Managing Director,
Greenhouse Gas Risk Solutions,
Swissre
- Ambassador Bo Kjellén
(Sweeden)
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European and American Business Perspectives on Emissions Trading and Climate Policy
On Nov. 30, 2005, Senator Jeff Bingaman gave the Keynote Address at this RFF co-sponsored conference.
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Post-Event Summary
Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) gave his only public address at the COP 11/MOP 1 meetings in Montreal at a side event hosted by Resources for the Future (RFF) and the Swedish foundation Mistra’s Climate Policy Research Program (CLIPORE). The event was titled “Engaging The U.S. In Climate Policy: Recent Developments And Prospects For The Future.”
Senator Bingaman discussed the evolution of thinking within the US Senate regarding the development of federal greenhouse gas policy and reiterated his belief in a mandatory, economy-wide policy to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
Until now, the McCain-Lieberman bill has been the leading legislative proposal, but the Senate has defeated it twice. The alternative, Bingaman said, is the concept put forward by the National Commission on Energy Policy (NCEP). There are three important differences between them, he outlined: the NCEP concept would set less ambitious goals, establish a maximum price for allowances to limit the cost of emissions reduction, and provide for periodic congressional review.
| The Senator’s talk was followed by remarks from Kevin Fay, executive director of the International Climate Change Partnership; Christopher Walker, managing director of the Greenhouse Gas Risk Solutions at Swissre, and Ambassador Bo Kjellén, leader of the Swedish delegation during the Kyoto Protocol negotiations. |
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Fay called for governments of all nations to provide more certainty regarding long-term emissions reduction goals and paths for achieving those goals. “For most industries, we are already into the product planning period for 2012,” noted Fay, as. the Kyoto Protocol’s limits on emissions end in 2012, and what happens thereafter has not yet been negotiated.
Walker offered an insurance company perspective, stating that sector is likely to be affected by the adverse impacts of climate change before other sectors of the economy. “We do believe the climate is changing,” said Walker. “Unusual events are accumulating,” including weather patterns, and that, he noted, is creating concern in the insurance industry.
Ambassador Kjellén concluded the session, providing a European response to the Senator's remarks and the commentaries given by the industry representatives. Citing the international leadership the US provided in the early 1990s as discussions of global action were beginning, he expressed the need and hope for renewed engagement by the US.
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(To listen to the audio files, you need RealPlayer. Get a free RealPlayer at www.real.com.)
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