Climate Change Policy: All Pain, No Gain
WASHINGTON, DC June 6, 1997 – Binding limits on greenhouse emissions will be devastating to families in the United States and other countries according to the report released by the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics (ABARE).
The Clinton administration is seeking to negotiate an international treaty that will require developed nations to severely curtail greenhouse gas emissions. The administration hopes to sign the agreement in Kyoto, Japan at the end of the year. “The Competitive Enterprise Institute has argued all along that the costs of Kyoto would wreak serious havoc on the U.S. economy. This report confirms our worst fears,” says Marlo Lewis, Vice President of Policy for CEI.
The report, The Economic Impact of International Climate Change Policy, argues that binding limits on emissions to be negotiated in Kyoto will lead to serious economic disruptions to energy intensive industries throughout the developed world. The most likely target to emerge from Kyoto is to stabilize emissions within the developed countries (Annex I countries) at 1990 levels by 2010 and at ten percent below 1990 levels by 2020. The developing countries (non-Annex I countries) will be exempt from the treaty. According to the report the following is likely to result:
“It is insane for the U.S. to throw away our industries and our jobs, especially when there are still serious scientific doubts regarding the reality of climate change,” argues Marlo Lewis. Lewis notes that highly accurate satellite measurements have shown no warming whatsoever over the last 18 years.
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