Senate Energy and Natural Resources Ranking Member Pete Domenici (R-NM) announced on March 26 that he would block climate legislation unless China or India take similar steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).
"My concerns are long enough that I would kill a bill if we haven't taken some giant stride in the direction of getting China and/or India to join with this," Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) said in an interview yesterday.
Domenici plans to hold firm unless he receives a signal from the White House to press developing nations into their own emissions reduction commitments. In a letter sent Friday, Domenici encouraged President Bush to seek additional commitments from China during Premier Wu Yi's upcoming May visit to Washington. Other examples of commitments that could win his support include a voluntary agreement or international treaties, a Domenici spokesman added.
China's emissions are reportedly on track to surpass those of the United States by early as this year which is driving the Senate Energy Committee's ranking member to express concern that a new U.S. program could do little to address climate change and simultaneously harm the domestic economy. Domenici has long been considered a pivotal figure in moving climate change legislation.
On a related note, American Electric Power (AEP) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) are floating a plan that would require any developing country that has not capped its emissions to purchase credits if it wants to import goods into the United States.
House and Senate Hearings on "Role of China & India"
On Monday, March 26, 2007, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a two-hour roundtable discussion on the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). During the discussion Sen. Domenici asked whether the European system encouraged China and India to participate and was told that it does not, but that it does allow credits to be traded on the international market.
In another hearing on March 27, the House Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee is scheduled to examine the role of China, India and other developing nations with regards to global warming.