Markey pushes climate change legislation

By Sheila McNulty in Houston
Published: February 10 2009 01:30

Ed Markey, chairman of the House energy and environment subcommittee, said he will press forward with climate-change legislation ahead of December’s UN Climate Change summit in Copenhagen.
“We want to be ready so the president can go to Copenhagen in December as the world leader,’’ he said.


Mr Markey said the debate in Congress was no longer focused on whether to pass climate change legislation but on how much to spend on it. His committee’s goal is to complete legislation by Memorial Day so it can go to the House floor.
“We know the G8 and the rest of the world is waiting for the United States to stop being the laggard and be the leader,” Mr Markey told CERA, a week-long energy conference that began on Monday. “There are potentially catastrophic consequences for the planet if we do not act.’’
Mr Markley said that neither the government or the private sector has invested enough in combating greenhouse gas emissions.
“The tools to solve these problems, in many instances, have not been invented yet,’’ Mr Markey said.
He urged Congress to set market-driven policies to give energy companies certainty and opportunities to participate in the “revolution” about to take place around climate change. He likened it to the developments that took place in telecommunications sector.
“We must now do the same thing in the energy sector,’’ Mr Markey said. “This is all inevitable. Ten or 20 years from now this revolution will be completed.”
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009