Research Briefing

As Obama Advocates For “Cap-And-Trade” At U.N., He Turns His Back On American Workers

“After Months Of Almost Single-Minded Focus On Healthcare, President Obama Is About To Shift The White House Spotlight To Global Warming -- First With A Speech To The United Nations In New York On Tuesday …” (Jim Tankersley, “Obama To Shift Focus To Climate Change,” The Los Angeles Times, 9/21/09)

OBAMA CONTINUES WORLD APOLOGY TOUR WITH SPEECH TO U.N. ON CAP-AND-TRADE …

Earlier This Summer In Germany, Obama Said Europe “Has Been Ahead Of Us” Cap-And-Trade Legislation. “[W]e are seeing progress in Congress around energy legislation that would set up for the first time in the United States a cap and trade system … So I’m actually more optimistic than I was about America being able to take leadership on this issue, joining Europe, which over the last several years has been ahead of us on this issue … ” (President Barack Obama, Remarks By President Obama And Chancellor Merkel Of Germany In Press Availability, Dresden, Germany, 6/5/09)

Now Obama Goes To U.N. To Apologize To European Nations Who Have “Little Hope That The United States Senate Would Act” On Cap-And-Trade Bill. “Ahead of this week’s climate talks at the United Nations, the Europeans also expressed little hope that the United States Senate would act on a climate bill before the Copenhagen talks begin … The Obama administration is trying to satisfy European demands for firm targets and timetables ...” (John M. Broder and James Kanter, “Europeans Say U.S. Lacks Will On Climate,” The New York Times, 9/20/09)

That’s Why Obama Administration Pressuring Senators To Pass National Energy Tax. “The Obama administration stepped up pressure on senators Tuesday to pass climate change legislation this year … Experts speculated that the announcement was timed to remind lawmakers of the White House’s power to impose regulations unilaterally and to prod the Senate into passing a climate change bill before a United Nations conference in Copenhagen convenes in December.” (Adriel Bettelheim and Coral Davenport, “Newly Unveiled Vehicle Standards Are A Possible Pace Car For Climate Talks,” Congressional Quarterly, 9/15/09)

And Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Will Be Introducing National Energy Tax Bill By Month’s End. “Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who heads the Environment and Public Works Committee, insisted Tuesday that her panel will introduce sweeping energy reform legislation by the end of the month… ‘The bill will be introduced this month, and we’re going to be marking it up shortly thereafter,’ Boxer said.” (Jessica Brady, “Boxer Vows To Introduce Energy Bill By Month’s End,” Roll Call, 9/8/09)

EVEN THOUGH AMERICA IS BETTER AT REDUCING EMISSIONS THAN EUROPE, WITHOUT CAP-AND-TRADE

“U.S. Carbon Emissions Will Fall 6 Percent This Year, The Energy Information Administration Said...” (Gerard Wynn, “Carbon Emissions Fall By Steepest In 40 years,” Reuters, 9/21/09)

• And Over The Past Two Years, Carbon Emissions From Burning Fossil Fuels Have Dropped 9 Percent.  “Last year, oil use dropped 5 percent, coal 1 percent and overall carbon emissions 3 percent. Projections for this year, based on Energy Department data for the first eight months, show oil use down by an additional 5 percent. Coal is estimated to fall by 10 percent. Altogether, carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels, including natural gas, dropped 9 percent over the two years.” (Lester R. Brown, “On Energy, We’re Finally Walking The Walk,” The Washington Post, 9/20/09)

But European Carbon Emissions Continue To Exceed Own Limits.  “The EU is struggling to show that a cap-and-trade system can reduce the heat-trapping gases that most scientists blame for climate change. Even though the recession is cutting Europe’s industrial production, carbon emissions still exceed allowances handed for free to polluters in 2008.” (Mathew Carr and Paul Dobson, “EU Permits Rise As Europe Falls Short On Cutting Carbon In 2008,” Bloomberg, 4/1/09)

• In 2006, Eleven Of Fifteen European Union Countries Failed To Meet Target Emissions Goals. (“Greenhouse Gas Emission Trends And Projections In Europe 2008,” European Environment Agency, 5/2008)

No Wonder Liberal Think Tank President And Chairman Says Cap And Trade “Will Do Little To Reduce U.S. Emissions…” “It will do little to reduce U.S. emissions, will transfer billions to incumbent energy interests in the form of free pollution permits, and will send billions more to timber, agriculture, and other interests, here and abroad, in the form of dubious ‘offsets.’” (Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger, “The Flawed Logic Of The Cap-And-Trade Debate,” Environment360, 5/19/09)

INSTEAD, OBAMA CHOOSES TO TURN HIS BACK ON AMERICAN WORKERS, FAMILIES BY PUSHING CAP-AND-TRADE

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI): “Nobody in this country realizes that cap and trade is a tax.  And it’s a great big one.” (Rep. John Dingell, House Energy and Commerce Committee and House Science Committee, Joint Hearing, 4/24/09)

Obama Administration Admits “Cap-And-Trade” Legislation Could Cost American Families Up To $1,761 Per Year. “The Obama administration has privately concluded that a cap and trade law would cost American taxpayers up to $200 billion a year, the equivalent of hiking personal income taxes by about 15 percent ... the total in new taxes would be between $100 billion to $200 billion a year. At the upper end of the administration’s estimate, the cost per American household would be an extra $1,761 a year.” (Dean McCullagh, “Cap-and-Trade Redux: $1,761 Annually Per Family? Or Not?” CBS News’ “Taking Liberties” Blog, 9/16/09)

Brookings Institution Says “Cap-And-Trade” Will Cause Job Losses. “A report issued by the left-leaning research organization said that if Congress passes something similar to President Obama’s or the House’s proposed plan, the economy would take the biggest hit around 2025. ... the net job loss would be 0.5 percent over the first 10 years that the legislation is in effect.” (Amanda DeBard, “Study: Cap And Trade Would Hurt Economy,” The Washington Times, 6/9/09)

CBO Says National Energy Tax Could Lead 1 to 3.5 Percent Decrease In GDP By 2050. ”[T]he Congressional Budget Office (CBO) concludes that the cap-and-trade provisions of H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACESA), if implemented, would reduce gross domestic product (GDP) below what it would otherwise have been—by roughly ¼ percent to ¾ percent in 2020 and by between 1 percent and 3½ percent in 2050.” (“The Economic Effects Of Legislation To Reduce Greenhouse-Gas Emissions,” Congressional Budget Office, 9/17/09)