Colorado's U.S. Senators Urged to Support Federal Climate Security Act

DENVER, June 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Environmental Defense Action Fund joined with National Wildlife Federation and 25x'25 to respectfully call for U.S. Senators Ken Salazar and Wayne Allard to support the bipartisan Climate Security Act (S. 3036). The United States Senate is expected to vote on the legislation this week.

The Climate Security Act, which was introduced by U.S. Senators John Warner (R-VA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT), will establish a market-based national program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the next several decades and chart a path towards a safe and secure climate. The legislation will grow Colorado's clean energy economy while protecting Coloradans from dangerous and costly disruption to our climate and our economy.

The Environmental Defense Action Fund issued a report today, "We Cannot Afford to Wait: Vote on the Climate Security Act is a Critical Choice for Colorado's Future" which outlines predicted risks for Colorado from global warming, and potential economic opportunities from national climate policy. The report accompanies this news release.

Colorado farm leader Mike Bowman is a strong advocate for the Climate Security Act, saying it will increase incentives for the production of distributed, local renewable energy sources. Bowman is a member of the national renewable energy agricultural organization 25x'25.

"America's farms, ranches and forests can and will play a significant role in reducing this nation's greenhouse gas inventory. The opportunity for rural America to have a seat at this table and to embrace these opportunities is significant.

"This 21st Century role for our rural communities will provide not only for enhancing this nation's role as a global leader in greenhouse gas reduction, but also will provide for economic development, energy security, and more sustainable local economies across America's rural landscape.

Martha Roberts, an economist with the Environmental Defense Action Fund, stressed the importance of the legislation to the Colorado economy.

"The Climate Security Act will grow Colorado's clean energy economy and protect Colorado's families from the grim march of global warming," Roberts said. "By using the power of the market and Colorado's homegrown innovation we can achieve climate security."

David Dittloff, regional coordinator for the National Wildlife Federation, points out the importance of climate change control to Colorado's tourism and outdoor recreation industries. His organization includes a diverse membership of hunters, anglers and other wildlife enthusiasts.

"Colorado's wildlife is in the bull's-eye of climate change unless we do something to address it quickly. Less snow in the mountains and earlier runoff in most years are going to injure trout populations, and higher temperatures and less rain on the high plains are going to dry up wetlands and reduce cover and forage levels for ducks, geese, pheasants, quail, and grouse populations.

"In short, Colorado's hunting, fishing, and outdoor heritage is at stake, and the Climate Security Act is a sensible way to address it. The bill would create a moderate, market-based approach that would reduce carbon pollution and create a pool of funding for natural resource and wildlife protection programs. It is critical that Senators Salazar and Allard vote for it."

We Cannot Afford to Wait

Vote on the Climate Security Act is a Critical Choice for Colorado's Future

The imminent Senate vote on comprehensive global warming policy is a decisive moment for Colorado. Already, Colorado is experiencing the first of a wide range of deleterious impacts expected under a changing climate, as well as the economic benefits of climate-friendly energy and agriculture markets. The Climate Security Act will help protect Colorado from the serious impacts of global warming while growing Colorado's clean energy economy. This bill is a key opportunity for Colorado to continue its tradition of leadership on climate and clean energy.

Comprehensive climate policy can help foster Colorado's renewable energy industry, an engine of economic growth in urban and rural parts of the state.

Colorado's world-renowned renewable energy research facilities, from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to programs at University of Colorado and Colorado State University, have made our state a mecca for private investment in renewable energy. The opening of Vestas' wind blade manufacturing plant in Windsor, which will employ 400 workers once at full production, (I) and the recent relocation of a major U.S. wind energy developer and producer, Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc., from Texas to Broomfield, (II) are just two of many examples of the economic growth that Colorado's new energy economy is creating throughout the state. Less high profile, but equally important to our state's economic health, are the broad range of small- and medium-sized clean energy companies working throughout Colorado, from Solix Biofuels, researching biodiesel production from algae, (III) to AVA Solar, investing in low-cost solar production opportunities,(IV) or Summit Blue Consulting LLC, working with utilities to implement energy efficiency programs. (V)

In rural areas of Colorado, our abundant wind and solar resources are further opportunities for renewable energy investment. These renewable energy projects can have a major impact on rural communities, which have often struggled to diversify and grow their economies. In Prowers County, for example, the 2003 'Colorado Green' wind project was the largest capital investment in the county's history, investing $200 million in 162 megawatts (MW) of wind generation.(VI) The project increased the county's tax base by 29%, providing an additional $1.1 million annually for the school district budget, almost $800,000 for the general fund, and almost $200,000 for the district hospital.(VII) The project supplies Xcel Energy with enough power for 50,000 homes when operating at peak capacity.(VIII)

There is tremendous potential to take advantage of these clean resources. For example, Xcel Energy's last solicitation for 150 MW of wind generation resulted in 2,785 MW of bids.(IX) Xcel Energy's newest electricity generation plan for Colorado includes proposals for construction of 800 MW of wind generation and 200 MW of concentrated solar generation by 2015;(X) these investments will help spread economic growth from renewable generation throughout Colorado's rural communities, while contributing to Xcel's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10% below 2005 levels by 2017.(XI) Federal climate policy could create a nationwide mechanism to spur development of Colorado's plentiful renewable energy resources.

Comprehensive climate policy can bolster agricultural efforts to address climate change.

The 'carbon offset' market included in the Climate Security Act is another opportunity to foster climate solutions that can benefit Colorado's rural communities. This market would pay farmers and ranchers for implementing new practices that sequester carbon in soils or avoid emission of global warming pollution. Potential practices include implementing no-till farming practices or changing manure management practices to reduce emissions of methane, a potent global warming pollutant.

Just this January, a pilot carbon offset trading project coordinated by Rocky Mountain Farmers Union distributed $57,000 to 35 farmers in Northeast Colorado in return for enrolling 15,000 acres in no-till and grass planting programs. (XII) Governor Ritter's recent Earth Day executive orders to address global warming included a measure launching a state-wide agricultural offset market, (XIII) expanding opportunities for agricultural carbon offsets in Colorado.

Establishing a nationwide program could create widespread incentives for farmers and ranchers to implement climate-friendly practices. A 2005 study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found that U.S. agricultural soils have the potential to store an additional 168 million tons of carbon dioxide annually; (XIV) at $20 per ton of carbon dioxide, such a market could generate $3.4 billion dollars worth of additional annual income for agricultural producers. (XV)

Comprehensive climate policy can help shield Colorado from escalating oil and gasoline prices.

By spurring reductions in global warming pollution, the Climate Security Act could help reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil and our exposure to escalating oil and gasoline prices.

The price of gasoline is determined primarily by the price of oil: more than 70 percent of the price of gas comes from the cost of oil. (XVI) World oil prices have doubled in the last year, and almost quadrupled in the past four years. (XVII) Oil prices are determined by the global market, including escalating demand from China and other developing nations.

The U.S. cannot dictate the global oil market, but we can make ourselves less vulnerable to it, by reducing and diversifying our energy use. A comprehensive climate policy can provide the economic incentives necessary to drive private sector investment into more efficient vehicles and alternative sources of energy, reducing America's dependence on oil. According to research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Climate Security Act is projected to cut U.S. annual oil imports by between $10 and $49 billion in 2020, a decrease of between 9 and 47% versus the business as usual scenario. (XVIII) More efficient vehicles would also increase the number of 'miles per dollar' of gasoline, reducing the total cost of gasoline bills for consumers.

Failing to act on global warming puts Colorado's economy at risk.

Global warming is already bringing unwelcome changes to Colorado. These impacts will place particular strain on Colorado's agricultural and tourist sectors, two key foundations of our state's economic well-being.

Just this month, a study by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program highlighted a wide range of negative impacts on U.S. natural resources. The report found that U.S. agriculture faced a number of risks from global warming, including increased livestock mortality, crop failures and weed growth. (XIX) The report also predicted that forests will be more vulnerable to pest infestations and forest fires,(XX) and that warmer winter temperatures and changing precipitation patterns will reduce winter snowpack,(XXI) potentially reducing the quality of winter recreation and leading to earlier snowmelt. For example, in recent decades many steams on the Western Slope of Colorado have experienced peak flows up to 10 days earlier than historical averages. (XXII)

Taken as a whole, these impacts can substantially impact economic growth. The world's preeminent body on the science of climate change, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, recently estimated that 7=C2=BAF of global warming would reduce worldwide Gross Domestic Product by 1 to 5%.(XXIII) While these figures already underscore the adverse economic impacts of a changing climate, the studies underlying these estimates considered only a subset of possible impacts from climate change, in some cases ignoring impacts on health and the environment or catastrophic consequences altogether.(XXIV)

We cannot afford to wait. The time for national climate policy is now.

Initiating reductions in global warming pollution as soon as possible ensures that the transition to a low-carbon economy and climate security will be smooth and gradual, and that firms will have ample time to adapt and transition to climate-friendly practices and technologies (see Figure 1). In contrast, delay will increase the pace of reductions necessary to reach climate stabilization, meaning that the transition to a low carbon-economy will have to be a faster, hastier effort.

In particular, acting now can facilitate significant low-cost opportunities for reducing global warming pollution. Some of the lowest-cost--often no-cost--opportunities to reduce emissions are through increasing energy efficiency in building construction, car manufacturing, and industrial processes. (XXV) A recent report by McKinsey & Company, an internationally renowned consulting firm, estimated that making these energy efficiency improvements in new infrastructure could offset 85% of projected additional electricity demand in 2030. (XXVI) In contrast, retrofitting existing infrastructure is expensive and less effective at increasing energy efficiency. Instituting policy now is essential to create the incentives needed to drive implementation of low-cost efficiency opportunities in new infrastructure before these opportunities slip away.

National level climate policy is urgently needed to protect Colorado citizens against the worst impacts of climate change while helping foster Colorado's climate-friendly economy. Colorado cannot afford to wait; the time to act is now.

I. Vestas press release, Vestas to establish blade factory in Colorado, USA, (March 20, 2007), available at: http://www.vestas.com/Admin/Public/DWSDownload.aspx?Filefiles%2Ffiler%2Fen%2F press_releases%2fvws%2f2007%2f070320pmuk03usa.pdf.

II. Denver Business Journal, Texas wind-energy company RES-Americas moving to Broomfield, (March 26, 2008), available at: http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2008/03/24/daily23.html?anafrom_rss . Also see RES Americas, Inc,
III. See Solix Biofuels, http://www.solixbiofuels.com/.
IV. See AVA Solar, http://www.avasolar.com/.
V. See Summit Blue Consulting, LLC, http://summitblue.com/.

VI. Stephen Titus, Harvesting megawatts on the eastern plans: wind turbines bolster Lamar ranches, local economy, ColoradoBiz, (Nov. 1, 2004), available at: http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-3441436/Harvesting-megawatts-on-the-ea stern.html.

VII. Id.
VIII. Id.

IX. Colorado Public Utilities Commission, Docket No. 07A-447E, Decision No. C08-0539, Decision Identifying Issues to Address in Rebuttal Testimony and Limited Supplemental Answer Testimony, at pg. 4 (May 21, 2008).

X. Xcel Energy press release, Xcel Energy files long-range generation resource plan; aligns efforts to meet Colorado Climate Action Plan goal, (Nov. 15, 2007), available at: http://www.xcelenergy.com/XLWEB/CDA/0,3080,1-1-1_15531_34200-42162-2_171_257-0 ,00.html.

XI. Xcel Energy press release, Xcel Energy files long-range generation resource plan; aligns efforts to meet Colorado Climate Action Plan goal, (Nov. 15, 2007), available at: http://www.xcelenergy.com/XLWEB/CDA/0,3080,1-1-1_15531_34200-42162-2_171_257-0 ,00.html.

XII. Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, Carbon Harvest Celebrated in Sterling, Colorado, (Jan. 4, 2008), available at: http://www.rmfu.org/2008/01/04/carbon-harvest-celebrated-in-sterling-colo/.

XIII. Colorado press release, Gov. Ritter Celebrates Earth Day 2008, (April 22, 2008), available at: http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?cPage&cid1208851617141&pagenameGovRitt er/GOVRLayout. See link to Executive Order D 010 08.

XIV. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Potential in Forestry and Agriculture, (November 2005), EPA Report 430-R-05-006, Washington, DC 20460.

XV. Bob Dole and Tom Daschle, The Role of Agriculture in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Recommendations for a National Cap-and-Trade Program, The 21st Century Agriculture Project, at pg. 13, (April 2008), available at: http://www.21stcenturyag.org/ht/a/GetDocumentAction/i/6039.

XVI. Energy Information Administration, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update: What We Pay For in a Gallon of Regular Gasoline (April 2008), available at: http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/gdu/gasdiesel.asp.

XVII. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Navigator: All Countries Spot Price FOB Weighted by Estimated Export Volume (Dollars per Barrel), (last updated May 29, 2008), available at: http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/wtotworldw.htm.

XVIII. Derived from Sergey Paltsev, John M. Reilly, Henry D. Jacoby, Angelo C. Gurgel, Gilbert E. Metcalf, Andrei P. Sokolov and Jennifer F. Holak, Assessment of U.S. Cap-and-Trade Proposals: Appendix C: Details of Simulation Results, MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change Report 146, (April 2007) available at: http://mit.edu/globalchange/www/MITJPSPGC_Rpt146_AppendixC.pdf. Calculations compared results from the reference case with the results from the three core scenarios.

XIX. Peter Backlund, Anthony Janetos, and David Schimel, Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.3 (SAP 4.3): The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity in the United States, U.S. Climate Change Science Program, available at: http://www.climatescience.gov/Library/sap/sap4-3/final-report/default.htm.

XX. Id.
XXI. Id.

XXII. I. T. Stewart, D. R. Cayan, and M. D. Dettinger. Changes in Snowmelt Runoff Timing in Western North America Under a 'Business as Usual' Climate Change Scenario. Climatic Change 62(2004): 217-232

XXIII. IPCC, 2007: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof, P.J. van der Linden and C.E. Hanson, Eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, at pg. 17, available at: http://www.ipcc-wg2.org/.

XXIV. Yohe, G.W., R.D. Lasco, Q.K. Ahmad, N.W. Arnell, S.J. Cohen, C. Hope, A.C. Janetos and R.T. Perez, 2007: Perspectives on climate change and sustainability. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof, P.J. van der Linden and C.E. Hanson, Eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, at 822-823, available at: http://www.ipcc-wg2.org/.

XXV. The data used to derive this chart are from the national allowance account for the years 2012 - 2020 from the introduced version of S.2191, America's Climate Security Act of 2007. The emissions growth from 2005 to 2013 is assumed to be 1.1% (which is the average of the 2004 and 2005 rate; http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/downloads06/07ES.pdf). Chart and information from Statement of Fred Krupp, President of Environmental Defense Fund, regarding America's Climate Security Act, submitted to the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on November 15, 2007.

XXVI. McKinsey & Company, Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much at What Cost?, pg. xv-xvi, (Dec. 2007) available at: http://www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/ccsi/pdf/US_ghg_final_report.pdf.

XXVII. Id, at pg. xv.

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FCMN Contact:

Source: Environmental Defense Action Fund

CONTACT: Mike Bowman, 25x'25 Clean Energy Agricultural Coalition,
+1-303-570-9277; David Dittloff, National Wildlife Federation,
+1-303-619-7106; Martha Roberts, Environmental Defense Action Fund,
+1-303-447-7214

2008-06-02 18:49:38 0375355 PRNEWSWIRE