Climate 411

Can the U.S. Compete with China? Fred Krupp Says “Yes”

By Sharyn Stein / Published: March 12, 2010

China’s growing economic power is a growing concern for many Americans. Can the U.S. continue to compete with China in the global marketplace?

In a new piece for Reuters, EDF President Fred Krupp says “yes” — through the power of comprehensive climate and energy legislation.

Fred talks about the new “tripartisan” effort to pass a climate and clean energy bill in the U.S. Senate.

He also talks about how that effort is our best hope to beat China in the world’s clean energy markets — and win the jobs those markets create:

Along with Sens. Graham, Kerry, and Lieberman, I believe we can match the scale of China’s centralized industrial policy by fully deploying the engine of American prosperity: our marketplace. It is the only tool we have with the scale and capital to compete with China. If the U.S. puts a limit on carbon pollution, we will send a clear signal to the marketplace that will unleash a massive wave of private investment in low-carbon energy sources and technologies like carbon capture and storage that would allow us to compete with the Chinese. Only when American policy creates a profit motive for investors, inventors and entrepreneurs, will we have a chance to win the race.

You can read the full piece here.

Also posted in News, Policy / Read 5 Responses

72 Hours, Thousands of Calls

By Sam Parry / Published: March 2, 2010

We need your help to unleash our clean energy future, create millions of new jobs, and reduce the carbon pollution that causes global warming.

Join EDF and Clean Energy Works as we call Senators and demand climate action.

Today is the first day of the 72 Hours for Clean American Power calling campaign. From today through Thursday, EDF is joining forces with 10 fellow environmental organizations to flood the Senate with calls demanding climate action.

You can do your part with just three easy steps:

1) Click to call your Senators and urge them to support a strong climate and energy bill this year. It’s free and takes only a few minutes. One call is worth 100 emails, so please call now. If you’re not sure what to say, see suggested talking points below.

2) Forward this link to everyone you know who’s concerned about global warming and our clean energy future.

3) Send an email to your Senators to reinforce our call for action. The more your Senators hear from you, the better.

This is a critical moment in our campaign — meaningful legislation is within our reach, but we have to push to make it happen. Please do everything you can over the next 72 hours to urge your Senators to act now.

Not sure what to say? No problem. We’ve got some call-in pointers and a sample call to get you started:

Make sure to tell your Senator:

  • Who You Are: Senators represent their constituents. Broad-based support from a particular interest group can really get their attention. So let them know if you’re a veteran, small business owner, mechanic, academic, scientist, mother, father, student – whatever group or groups you are part of.
  • Where You’re From: Senators need to know that you live in their state, and where in their state you live. They need to hear that people from every corner of their state are climate and clean energy advocates.
  • Why You Care: Whether your inspiration is national security, jobs, love of our planet or all of the above, it is essential to let Senators know why you care.
  • It’s urgent! Your Senator needs to hear urgency from you. If the Senate does not act this year, especially in the next few months, the clock will run out on this Congress and it could be a long time before they take it up again. We can’t afford to let pollution build up and our economy stagnate while the Senate delays.

Here is a sample call that includes all four key elements:

Hi- My Name is Brenda Smith and I’m a small business owner from Town/City, State. America desperately needs help to jumpstart our economy and create jobs – and a clean energy and climate bill can help us do it. We’ve waited long enough – the clean energy economy is passing us by. We are losing ground to China and India and losing jobs here in America. I want Sen. X to act now to pass a strong clean energy and climate bill. Not next year – NOW.

Also posted in News / Read 3 Responses

China Takes the Lead on Clean Energy Jobs: How the U.S. Can Still Win

By Tony Kreindler / Published: February 26, 2010

A majority of Americans are worried that the United States’ role in the world economy will diminish in the coming years, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

But the truth is, China is already beating the U.S. to clean energy jobs.

China is quickly becoming the global powerhouse in clean energy manufacturing and innovation, dwarfing the efforts of America. Backed by huge investment and an industrial policy bigger than the world has ever seen, China has become the worldwide leader in new energy technology markets while the U.S. is quickly falling behind.

But we can match the scale of China’s centralized industrial policy by fully deploying the engine of American prosperity: our marketplace. It is the only tool we have with the scale and capital to compete with China.

If the U.S. puts a limit on carbon pollution from dirtier sources of energy, we will send a clear signal to the marketplace that will unleash a massive wave of private investment in clean energy that would allow us to compete with the Chinese.  Only when American policy creates a profit motive for investors, inventors and entrepreneurs, will we have a chance to win the race.

President Obama made that case to the Business Roundtable. He called for a price on carbon to kick-start America’s efforts to win the clean technology race.

Key excerpts of the President remarks:

A competitive America is also an America that finally has a smart energy policy.  We know there is no silver bullet here – that to reduce our dependence on oil and the damage caused by climate change, we need more production, more efficiency, and more incentives for clean energy.

But to truly transition to a clean energy economy, I’ve also said that we need to put a price on carbon pollution …

What we can’t do is stand still.  The only certainty of the status quo is that the price and supply of oil will become increasingly volatile; that the use of fossil fuels will wreak havoc on weather patterns and air quality.  But if we decide now that we’re putting a price on this pollution in a few years, it will give businesses the certainty of knowing they have time to plan and transition.  This country has to move towards a clean energy economy.  That’s where the world is going.  And that’s how America will remain competitive and strong in the 21st century.

If Congress puts a limit on carbon pollution, the U.S. will compete with China. If we don’t, there’s no reason to believe the future will look any different than the facts we see today. Those facts are listed below, or you can download and print EDF’s one-page handout version [PDF].

China’s Climate and Energy Policies Create an Investment Advantage

  • In 2009, China dedicated $440 billion in government funding solely to clean energy. –AFP, 5/24/2009
  • Renewable energy industries in China reached 1.12 million jobs in 2008 and are increasing by 100,000 a year. –NYT, 1/31/2010
  • China is already moving aggressively on measures it promised at Copenhagen, including closing an additional 10 gigawatts of inefficient, polluting coal plants. – Washington Post, 1/7/2010
  • In December 2009, China passed a law requiring its electric grid companies to buy any and all electricity generated from renewable sources. – WSJ, 12/27/2009

China Goes into Wind Power Overdrive in 2009

  • Five years ago, there was almost no Chinese presence in the wind manufacturing industry, and now China hosts the world’s largest wind market with installed capacity of over 25,000 MW, a significant increase from 2008, when China was home to about 12,000 MW. –  GWEC, 2/3/2010
  • As the world’s wind power capacity grew by 31% in 2009, China was responsible for one-third of the additions, experiencing industry growth of over 100%. – GWEC, 2/3/2010

The Saudi Arabia of Solar

  • China has leapfrogged the West in the last two years to emerge as the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels. – NYT, 1/31/2010
  • Already home to one-third of global solar manufacturing capacity, Chinese competition has reduced global solar prices by 30% and is forcing rivals to shift production facilities to China: U.S. Evergreen Solar Inc. is moving its assembly line from Massachusetts to China, while BP PLC’s solar unit said it would stop output in Maryland and rely on Chinese suppliers instead. – WSJ,  12/15/2009
  • Responding to domestic demand, Applied Materials – the world’s largest supplier of equipment to the solar photovoltaic industry – opened the world’s largest private sector solar research center in Xian, China in October 2009. – TIME, 11/30/2009

Green Technology Investment

  • Batteries and Electric Cars — China is also leading in advanced vehicle and battery technology. Chinese firm BYD introduced the world’s first plug-in hybrid vehicle , China’s production of lithium ion batteries had accounted for 41 percent of the global market by 2008, and the number of battery companies in China increased from 455 to 613 between 2001 and 2004. – Breakthrough Institute, 11/09
  • Transmission — China is an emerging world leader in ultra-high-voltage, or UHV transmission technology, with more than 100 domestic manufacturers and suppliers.  The State Grid Corporation will invest $44 billion through 2012, and $88 billion through 2020 in building UHV transmission lines. – Center for American Progress, 6/4/2009
Also posted in Economics, International, Jobs, Policy / Read 9 Responses

More Voices Add to the Chorus: Give Us a Job-Creating Climate Bill

By Sharyn Stein / Published: January 29, 2010

The State of the Union is the main topic of conversation this week, but President Obama wasn’t the only one who had strong words about climate legislation.

First, 17  U.S. Senators sent a letter to President Obama [PDF ]asking him to put “clean energy and climate legislation capable of creating new economic opportunities” at the top of his list of priorities for this year.  The letter says:

Legislation that invests in clean energy and puts a meaningful limit on carbon pollution will be a major job creator.

Obviously, from what we heard Wednesday night, they’ll get no argument from the President on that point.

Second, a group of almost three dozen environmental, labor, faith and civic groups called on Senate leaders to avoid the trap of an “energy-only” bill and instead pass strong legislation that includes a cap on carbon pollution.

In a letter to the Senate leaders [PDF], Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the groups — including EDF — say an energy bill alone would be “just more of the same” at a time when our economy needs a new direction.

The letter points out that the U.S. passed major energy-only bills in 2005 and 2007 that haven’t done much to stimulate the economy, and says:

Energy and climate legislation must be connected and comprehensive to create the opportunity to build a new clean energy economy that secures our energy supplies, fosters innovation, and creates the new jobs we so desperately need here in the U.S.

One more note: in an earlier post we told you about USCAP’s new ad campaign. This week, Peter Molinaro talked to PBS’s Judy Woodruff about those ads, USCAP’s other work, and why big businesses like his Dow Chemical are pushing for climate and clean energy legislation, in partnership with environmental groups. You can watch that interview on PBS’s web site.

Also posted in News / Comments are closed

Climate, Clean Energy and the State of the Union

By Sharyn Stein / Published: January 28, 2010

When I turned on the State of the Union speech last night, I planned to listen very closely so I could hear any mention of a climate and clean energy bill.

Turns out I didn’t have to work that hard. President Obama talked about clean energy — and its potential to create jobs — throughout the speech.

Here are some of the most relevant quotes:

We can put Americans to work today building the infrastructure of tomorrow … There’s no reason Europe or China should have the fastest trains, or the new factories that manufacture clean energy products.

We should put more Americans to work building clean energy facilities, and give rebates to Americans who make their homes more energy efficient, which supports clean energy jobs.

Germany’s not waiting.  India’s not waiting … They are making serious investments in clean energy because they want those jobs.

We need to encourage American innovation … And no area is more ripe for such innovation than energy.  You can see the results of last year’s investment in clean energy – in the North Carolina company that will create 1200 jobs nationwide helping to make advanced batteries; or in the California business that will put 1,000 people to work making solar panels.

But to create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives.  That means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country.  It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development. It means continued investment in advanced biofuels and clean coal technologies.  And yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America.

I am grateful to the House for passing such a bill last year.  This year, I am eager to help advance the bipartisan effort in the Senate.  I know there have been questions about whether we can afford such changes in a tough economy; and I know that there are those who disagree with the overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change.  But even if you doubt the evidence, providing incentives for energy efficiency and clean energy are the right thing to do for our future – because the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy.  And America must be that nation.

The speech got a good reception from most environmental groups. EDF’s president, Fred Krupp, said this:

President Obama got it right when he said we must pass ‘a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America.’ The American people want less imported oil, less pollution, and more jobs – and Congress can deliver all three by passing a real clean energy bill that puts a limit on carbon pollution.

If we’re serious about creating jobs, beating the Chinese and Europeans in this new global market, and cutting imported oil, then Congress needs to move forward without delay and pass strong clean energy legislation. A traditional bill that completely exempts big companies from any limits on carbon pollution is a non-starter; it simply will not solve our most pressing national challenges.

With all the divisions in Washington, this is an issue that should unite the two parties.  Both nominees in the last presidential election supported limits on carbon pollution, and legislators of both parties are now working to find a bipartisan solution. Americans want Congress find a way to cut imported oil, cut pollution, and create new jobs. Now it’s time to get the job done.

Also posted in News / Comments are closed

That Video and the Nine-Trillion-Pound Question

By Keith Gaby / Published: December 3, 2009

You may have seen the new video by Annie Leonard raising questions about cap and trade. It has provoked impassioned responses by environmentalists (comments are pouring in on the post by David Roberts that Tony linked to yesterday, and here’s another from  Eric de Place on Sightline).

The first and most important thing to say about the video is that we really, really, really agree with one of her central points: A cap on carbon pollution is the most important step we can take to protect our environment.

But we disagree with some other things in the video — most of all, the idea that passing the current climate bill would be a bad idea.  The bill isn’t perfect, but it would be an historic and effective step forward.  Here’s why:

If we don’t enact a cap soon, international negotiations will fail.  Without a limit on U.S. emissions, China and India will never agree to cut their global warming pollution.  That means our slow-motion, real-life disaster movie continues, and we probably shoot past the environmental tipping point scientists have warned us about.  That’s why President Obama endorsed the bill and said “delay is no longer an option.”

But maybe the most direct and practical reason is that the bill which passed the House of Representatives will result in a reduction in global warming pollution of four billion metric tons per year. That’s nearly nine trillion pounds less pollution in the atmosphere by mid-century. It’s the equivalent of taking 720 million cars off the road, permanently.

Failing to pass a bill means deciding to allow those 4 billion tons of pollution to go into the atmosphere every year.  Eleven million tons per day.

And if you feel that the bill should be even stronger, remember that some of the most important laws in our nation’s history — Social Security, the Civil Rights Act, the Clean Air Act — started as important first steps that were strengthened over time.   Unless we lay the foundation, we will never make any progress.

Lastly, the video talks about using the EPA to regulate carbon emissions instead of passing a cap and trade bill.  The EPA has an important role to play, but a law passed by Congress is much better.  There are lots of reasons, but consider just one: Do you really want to let the next anti-environmental President undo pollution limits through executive action?

We think there oughta be a law against that.

Posted in Climate Change Legislation / Comments are closed