Last year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a climate change bill that called for a 17 percent cut on carbon dioxide emissions and a “cap-and-trade system” under which companies receive pollution allowances and those who exceed their allowance must purchase “credits” from companies who emit less pollutants.
On April 26, a bipartisan group of senators will unveil a bill that would further curb carbon dioxide emissions, institute a federal program to promote natural-gas production and use, and fund green-transportation programs.
But should this bill pass?
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson told School of Media and Public Affairs Director and Planet Forward founder Frank Sesno that the nation now faces “really complex” public policy changes that have raised a number of concerns, including effects on the economy and national security, at “A Time To Act? Next Steps for a Climate Bill” April 20 at GW’s Jack Morton Auditorium.
“This climate bill is incredibly important in terms of our ability to move forward,” said Ms. Jackson. “The House took action awhile ago, and I think there’s been some really heroic efforts out there from the bill sponsors to try and move the bill forward and that’s what we need right now.”
The event was the second for the online social network Planet Forward, a project of GW’s Center for Innovative Media and forum for the discussion and evaluation of innovative ideas that address global challenges.
At the event, Ms. Jackson and Mr. Sesno discussed specific provisions of the new bill, including a carbon tax, oil refinery regulations and energy efficient technologies, and watched several videos submitted to Planet Forward by GW students.
Ms. Jackson said the EPA both supports and encourages the passing of environmental legislation.
“We’ve decided to go for another moon launch here,” she said. “If we’re going to move toward cleaner energy and we’re going to take the time to transition properly and train people how to do it and set it as a national goal, it would be better [for the discussion] to be apolitical if not bipartisan.
“It was the Clean Air Act and discussions about acid rain that led us to the idea of how you can use markets to incentivize the kind of behavior you want,” she added. “We’re in a pretty politicized environment now so some of our discussions never get that far. But this isn’t about who does it—I know there will be a role for the EPA in any future.”
Ms. Jackson urged students interested in environmental careers to define their passion and find a way to marry environmental policy changes with a strong economy.
“For us to transform our society, to be more sustainable and to think of the environment and economy as moving together, [it] is going to take some transformative thinking,” she said. “I actually believe most of you have [grown] up in that time where you’ve had that kind of thinking—you don’t believe you have to choose and I think that’s going to be the big transformation that happens.”
Following Ms. Jackson’s interview, a panel of environmental experts joined Mr. Sesno to discuss their role in upcoming climate change legislation. The panelists--Ana Unruh-Cohen of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, Jim Connaughton of the Constellation Energy Group, Kate Sheppard of Mother Jones, and Dan Lashof of the Natural Resources Defense Council--debated details of the bill and possible pushback on its passing.
Ms. Sheppard said she believes Americans, especially young people, will be open to making the lifestyle changes called for in the new environmental legislation, especially if public programs are made available.
“We’re a generation that grew up with a lot more of this [green] stewardship idea in our lifestyle,” said Ms. Sheppard. “We don’t think twice about recycling; it’s not a question for us. We don’t question a lot of the environmental policies that have been in place for 40 years because they’ve always been there for us. I think young people really are adaptable to these changes and are looking for them and want to see public policy that supports them.”
The event was sponsored by GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs, GW’s School of Business and GW’s Environmental Studies program.