Obama Announces New Energy Policy!
October 8th, 2007 11:56 am by Ian G.Straight from the press release that was in my inbox, here is the new energy policy that was sent out from the Obama campaign people…..
Real Leadership for a Clean Energy Future
Talking Points
In a major policy address today, Barack Obama announced a visionary plan to make America a global leader on energy. Obama’s plan lays out bold steps to combat global climate change, free America from the tyranny of oil, and create millions of new jobs and entire new industries here in America. Senator Obama is a proven leader on energy with a strong record of fighting to invest in renewable fuels and raise fuel economy standards. Obama has been honest in telling the defenders of the status quo that when he’s President, the same failures won’t do.
The first part of Barack Obama’s plan is to set a hard cap on all carbon emissions at a level that scientists say is necessary to curb global warming – an 80% reduction by 2050. To reach that goal, he will ensure that all polluters have to pay based on the amount of pollution they release. The market will set the price, but unlike the other cap-and-trade proposals that have been offered in this race, no business will be allowed to emit any greenhouses gases for free. Businesses don’t own the sky, the public does.
Second, he will launch a Next Generation Clean Energy Fund that will invest $150 billion over the next decade in clean, affordable energy. He will also launch a Clean Technologies Venture Capital Fund to provide $10 billion a year for five years to get the most promising clean energy technologies off the ground so the American economy can benefit from America’s innovations. And he will call on businesses, government, and the American people to make America 50% more energy efficient by 2030.
To meet these challenges, America cannot act alone. That’s why as President, Barack Obama will reach out to leaders of the biggest carbon emitting nations and ask them to join us in creating a Global Energy Forum that will meet once a year and lay the foundation for the next generation of climate protocols. We will also work to build an alliance of oil-importing nations and work together to reduce our demand, just like the OPEC nations strategize on supply.
For too long, America has failed to lead on energy. That’s partly because of a President who spent most of his time denying the existence of global warming. But it’s also a failure that pre-dates the presidency of George W. Bush. We have heard promises about energy independence from every single U.S. President since Richard Nixon – Republicans and Democrats. And yet, no matter how well-intentioned or bold, energy plans fall victim to the same timid, calculating, special interest-driven Washington politics.
Some in this race argue that the more time you spend immersed in the broken politics of Washington, the more likely you are to change it. But when they had the chance to require automakers to raise fuel standards, they refused. When they had multiple chances to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by investing in renewable fuels that we can grow right here in America, they said no.
Barack Obama has been a leader on energy. When he arrived in the U.S. Senate, he reached across the aisle to pass a law that will give more Americans the chance to fill up their cars with clean biofuels – and he pushed through a law to help develop cars that will get 250 miles to the gallon. He even voted for an energy bill that was far from perfect because it made some real investments in renewable sources of energy. And he fought to eliminate the tax giveaways to oil companies that were slipped into that bill – oil companies that have spent half a billion dollars lobbying Congress in the last ten years while their profits have risen to record highs.
Above all, Barack Obama reached across the aisle to develop a plan to raise our fuel standards that won the support of lawmakers who had never supported raising fuel standards before. And he didn’t just give a speech about it in front of some environmental audience in California. He went to Detroit, stood in front of a group of automakers, and told them that as President, we will help them retool their factories, but they will have to make cars that use less oil. The room was pretty quiet, but Obama believes that leadership isn’t about telling people what they want to hear, it’s about telling them what they need to hear. As President, he will put an end to partisan politics, stand up to the special interests, and help solve our energy crisis once and for all.