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Washington / Klobuchar seeks action to curb global warming

Senator describes effects on Minnesota

FREDERIC J. FROMMER, Associated Press

January 31, 2007

Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Tuesday called for strong action to stem global warming, telling Senate colleagues the issue was a huge concern for constituents in her home state.

 

On a day when temperatures struggled to top 10 degrees in Minneapolis, Klobuchar said some people might wonder why Minnesotans would care if the temperature warmed up a few degrees.

 

"Well, we are concerned — we're deeply concerned," Klobuchar, a freshman Democrat, said at a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee meeting."We are concerned for ourselves and for the rest of the world. We are concerned for the impact of global warming and the effect it's already having. Global warming is on the rise, with enormous consequences for our world and our economy."

 

The recent cold weather notwithstanding, Klobuchar said, "December in Minnesota felt more like October. Our ice fishing seasons are shorter, and our skiers and snowmobilers haven't seen much snow."

 

Klobuchar spoke at a meeting in which senators were invited to express their views on global warming in advance of a broader set of hearings on the issue. She said she wanted to see several specific provisions in legislation aimed at curtailing global warming, including:

• Strong limits on economy-wide emissions of greenhouse gases.
• A cap and trade system, in which companies would be able to buy and sell emissions allowances.
• Strong renewable fuel content standards for cars and trucks.
• Incentives for hybrid and flex-fuel vehicles.
• Renewable energy standards for electricity generation, to make greater use of wind, solar and other renewable sources.

"In Minnesota, stewardship for the environment is a part of our heritage, and it has been an especially important part of preserving our economy," Klobuchar said. "So global warming is an issue that strikes us close to home."

 

President Bush, while acknowledging concerns about global warming, opposes mandatory caps of greenhouse gas emissions, saying that approach would be too expensive. Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who chairs the committee, has the most aggressive bill, touted as reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by mid-century.

 

"I generally support that bill as well as the McCain-Lieberman bill," Klobuchar told reporters on a conference call later in the day. The latter bill, by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., would cut emissions by two-thirds by 2050.

 

Klobuchar stressed that no one will get everything they want in the final bill.

 

"The most important thing is to be able to get something out of there so we can get something passed this year and get started on reducing greenhouse gas emissions," she said. "We just can't keep going the way that we're going."

 

Klobuchar said the issue has been gaining momentum. "In the last few months, you hear more and more people — Republicans, independents, Democrats — concerned about this," she said.