On April 16, President Bush outlined a global warming strategy that aims to halt U.S. growth in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The proposal would slow emissions so that there would only be a 12 percent increase in emissions over 2005 levels by 2025. This is the first time that he has gone on record in support of specific limits on GHG emissions and their link to global warming.
Bush's initiative is not currently in legislative form, but his announcement comes in advance of Senate Democratic efforts to begin consideration of the Lieberman-Warner climate change bill in the Senate, expected in early June.
The Bush administration has been a staunch opponent of a mandatory "cap-and-trade" approach to reducing GHG. Although it has backed some mandatory programs, it has preferred voluntary measures to broadly address climate change. Prior to the President's speech, however, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino "left the door open" to market-based approaches by saying, "We aren't necessarily against cap-and-trade proposals...What we've seen so far from Congress is not something that we can support."
Response to Bush's proposal from Democratic leaders was mixed. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said that President Bush "will further cement his utter failure to lead the nation and the world on this enormously important issue to the economy, national security and our quality of life."
However, Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), reacted by saying, "I am glad the President finally wants to engage on the issue of climate change. The best way for him to do that is by coming forward with a concrete legislative proposal." Another key House Democrat, House Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA), said that "this message [sends] a very positive signal that it's time to engage, to do so on a bipartisan basis and that engagement would include Republicans working with Democrats on the committee and the Administration working with us."
All three leading presidential candidates, Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL), support a mandatory cap-and-trade legislation.