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U.S. to Focus on Job Gains Before Carbon Fixes, Yergin Says
2010-11-02 06:10:30.664 GMT
By Christian Schmollinger
Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- The likelihood of Republicans gaining
control of the U.S. House of Representatives means more focus on
creating jobs than reducing carbon emissions, said Daniel Yergin,
Pulitzer-winning author of oil-industry history "The Prize."
Republicans could gain 39 seats in the House after
elections today, according to a Bloomberg National Poll of
voters from Oct. 24-26. Such a shift will take energy policies
"in a different direction" from efforts by President Barack
Obama's administration, Yergin, chairman of IHS-Cambridge Energy
Research Associates, said today.
"There just isn't the political traction for big
legislation" on climate change, he said in an interview during
Singapore International Energy Week. "The main thing now is the
U.S. economy. The critical thing is the restoration of
confidence, a sense of predictability, in which you know what's
going to happen with regulation and tax. Then people will make
investment decisions and that will create jobs."
The U.S. unemployment rate probably held at 9.6 percent for
a third month, according to the median of 61 estimates in a
Bloomberg News survey. Critics of plans by the Environmental
Protection Agency to enforce greenhouse gas emission limits
under the Clean Air Act say the economy can't handle new
regulations on cars, trucks, oil refineries and factories. The
U.S. is the world's second-largest carbon emitter after China.
The EPA moved after Congress failed to enact laws putting
in place a cap-and-trade program. Senate Republicans were
defeated in June in their efforts to strip the agency of that
authority. The ability to regulate greenhouse gases under
existing law stems from a 2007 Supreme Court decision on the
scope of the Clean Air Act.
China's Embrace
"The EPA was given authority to intervene on this and
that's what is in motion now," said Yergin. "It's going to be
controversial. There is big philosophical debate that underlies
what mechanisms you use to address carbon. Cap-and-trade was
invented to be a more market-friendly tool but it's also more
complicated."
Efforts to address energy efficiency and carbon reductions
have gained more credence in both China and the U.S. as the
countries embrace economic benefits, said Yergin.
"Efficiency used to be a controversial issue," he said.
"But it's been embraced across the political spectrum and by
countries. China has put it at the top of its energy
priorities."
Global energy demand from all sources will climb by between
32 percent and 40 percent in the next 20 years, said Yergin,
driven by emerging economies such as China and India.
New Sectors
In 2007, China became the largest emitter of energy-related
carbon dioxide, according to International Energy Agency data.
The country's annual discharge of CO2 was more than six billion
tons in 2008, almost tripling from 1990s levels, IEA said in a
report on its website.
"I think we'll see the 12th Five-Year Plan will have much
bigger focus on new energy, new strategic sectors. And the
Chinese have the resources and finances now to invest and see
that they can build a position in what may well be the
technologies of the day after tomorrow," he said.
China's primary energy consumption in 2015 will be between
4 billion metric tons and 4.2 billion tons of standard coal,
Xinhua News Agency said, citing Jiang Bing, the director of the
development and planning department of the National Energy
Administration.
Consumption needs to be kept below 4.2 billion tons in the
2011-2015 five-year plan for the country to meet its targets of
drawing 15 percent of energy needs from non-fossil fuels, and
cutting emissions per unit of GDP by 40 percent to 45 percent,
Xinhua reported.
For Related News and Information:
News on oil markets: NI OILMARKET <GO>
Top energy, oil stories: ETOP <GO>, OTOP <GO>
News on energy markets: NI NRGMKT <GO>
Oil Forward Price Curve: CL1 <CMDTY> CCRV <GO>
Global Energy Statistics: ENST <GO>
--Editors: Clyde Russell, John Viljoen.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Christian Schmollinger in Singapore at +65-6212-1898 or
christian.s@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Clyde Russell at +65-6311-2423 or crussell7@bloomberg.net
