Enviro Issues

Kyoto Rears Again

Kyoto Again Stalks the Senate

In Washington, proponents of global warming continue to pursue legislation to cap carbon dioxide emissions and push the United States into ratifying the Kyoto Protocol on global climate change—a treaty that the Senate has steadfastly failed to ratify. In fact, in 1997, the Senate passed a resolution stating that any such resolution would have to include developing nations, and that such a treaty should not harm the U.S. economy. The Kyoto Protocol fails on both these accounts. This year, Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, considered but ultimately excluded a climate change title in the energy bill. Adopting such a title would have implicitly endorsed the assertion that human induced greenhouse gas emissions significantly contribute to global warming and opened the door to Kyoto Protocol-style caps on emissions, most notably carbon dioxide.

Proponents of the Kyoto-style restrictions on energy use have not abandoned the fight, however, and are gearing up for a floor fight with amendments to include more stringent global warming policies. Supporters such as Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) already made a push for more aggressive climate change policies earlier this year. Other stalwarts, such as Sens. Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) will be prominent in the coming debates as well.