N.Y. Senator, Mayor at Odds Over Emissions
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WASHINGTON — Senator Clinton’s endorsement of a “cap and trade” system over a tax on carbon to reduce the impact of global warming puts her at odds with Mayor Bloomberg and drew a stinging rebuke from one of her Democratic rivals for the presidency. In a lengthy policy speech in Iowa yesterday, the Democratic front-runner unveiled a series of proposals aimed at combating climate change, including stiffer fuel efficiency standards, a 20% reduction in electricity consumption by 2020, and more investment in “green” buildings and alternative energy sources.
But the piece of her plan likely to stir the most debate is a “cap and trade” program that places a national limit on carbon dioxide emissions and establishes a market in which companies can buy and sell permits for carbon pollution. In backing that initiative, Mrs. Clinton is steering clear of a direct tax on carbon emissions, a competing proposal to address global warming that has won the support of Mr. Bloomberg and Vice President Gore.
Senator Dodd of Connecticut is the only Democratic presidential hopeful to support the carbon tax, and a spokesman for his campaign said yesterday Mrs. Clinton’s proposal on climate change smacked of “empty rhetoric.”
While Mrs. Clinton’s plan has drawn praise from environmental groups — the League of Conservation Voters called it “an exciting blueprint for new leadership” — the “cap and trade” proposal is seen as more politically palatable than a carbon tax, and her choice is likely to feed criticism from her rivals that her policy decisions are overly influenced by the polls.
“I don’t know how it would do in a public poll, but leading experts agree that a corporate carbon tax targeted at polluters is needed to reverse the effects of global warming,” the spokesman for Mr. Dodd, Hari Sevugan, said. Mr. Sevugan pointed to praise from a former chairman of the White House Climate Change Task Force under President Clinton, Roger Ballentine, who called Mr. Dodd’s plan “the gold standard.”
Messrs. Dodd and Gore have each proposing using both a “cap and trade” system as well as a carbon tax to combat climate change. Mr. Bloomberg, a potential presidential rival to Mrs. Clinton, announced his support for the carbon tax in a speech last week in Seattle, where he said the economic benefits of a new levy should trump political considerations. “The job of an elected official is to lead — not to stick a finger in the wind,” he said. “It’s to stand up and say what we believe — even when the polls say otherwise, and when the pundits say, ‘but for the politics.'”
The mayor said that while both a carbon tax and a “cap and trade” system go after the same goal of putting a price on carbon, a tax brings more certainty and could be less costly in the long run.
Mrs. Clinton did not address the carbon tax in her speech, but she said a market-based “cap and trade” system on carbon would be similar to one used to reduce acid rain in the 1990s. “We know this can work,” she said.
Asked about a carbon tax, a campaign spokesman, Blake Zeff, said: “We respect those who support a carbon tax, but we have a different approach.”
Mrs. Clinton’s top rivals, Senator Obama and John Edwards, also support the “cap and trade” system over a carbon tax. Nonetheless, their campaigns criticized her plan on other fronts. A spokesman for Mr. Obama pointed out that she had voted against higher fuel standards in the Senate, while a spokeswoman for Mr. Edwards criticized her for not addressing the question of nuclear power, which the former North Carolina senator opposes.
Mrs. Clinton said the “cap and trade” system would help achieve her goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% from their 1990 level by 2050. In what her advisers said was the culmination of her major policy proposals for the primary campaign, she also laid out goals of cutting foreign oil imports by two-thirds and proposed a mandatory hike in fuel efficiency standards to 55 miles a gallon by 2030.
She also called for phasing out incandescent light bulbs and said that as president she would require all new federal buildings to be carbon neutral. In total, she said her energy and climate change agenda would generate 5 million new jobs and cost $150 billion over 10 years, a bill that would be paid in part by eliminating certain tax breaks for oil companies.
While she did not endorse a carbon tax favored by Mr. Gore, she praised his high-profile campaign against global warming and adopted other ideas that he has championed, including a “Connie Mae” program to provide incentives for low- and middle-income Americans to buy environmentally friendly homes.
Mrs. Clinton characterized the fight for energy independence and against climate change as a generational challenge akin to World War II and requiring a commitment from all Americans. “Tackling the energy crisis is the calling of our time,” she said. “And when I’m president, it will be the calling of our nation.”