Al Gore Lobbies for Climate Change Bill
US lawmakers supporting the climate change legislation have found an extra hand in former US Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore. Calling the bill a “good start”, Al Gore has mustered his grassroots manpower and mobilized environmental organizations to secure the bill’s passage through Congress’ House Energy Committee.
Although the controversial bill has received criticism from environmental groups, Al Gore believes it has “reached the stage that a lot of people thought that it never would”. The bill has been seen as too lenient to utilities, coal plants and manufacturing companies. Republican and Democrat lawmakers from coal-manufacturing states disputed an earlier draft of the bill that required utilities to secure six% of fuel from renewable sources by 2012 and to 25% by 2025. In addition, the initial target of a 20% reduction of 2005 greenhouse gas (GHG) levels by 2020 in the first draft of the warming bill decreased to 17%.
In acknowledging that the bill did provide concessions, Gore was nevertheless optimistic about how it was moving the country forward in GHG emission reductions.
Aside from GHG emissions reduction, the Democrat-dominated House of Representatives is aiming to have 15% of US energy derived from renewable sources such as solar, wind, geothermal and biofuels by 2020. It also aims to achieve an annual energy savings of 5% by that time through energy efficiency measures.
Gore has been actively campaigning worldwide for countries to adopt green legislation in order to combat global warming. An environment champion, he formed the Climate Project and the Alliance for Climate Protection in 2006 as machinery for public dissemination of climate issues. Together, the two groups have poured in considerable resources and provided additional backbone for the nationwide effort to produce a climate bill, working in different congressional districts all over the country.
In the early part of May 2009, they launched two television ads focused on clean energy that encourages viewers to contact their representative to say ‘yes’ to the climate bill.
More information on the Waxman-Markey Bill:
- Waxman-Markey Bill is detailed in this Committee on Energy and Commerce.
- The Atlantic Monthly offers some criticsms of the Waxman-Markey bill.