29 June 2009 | Luca Del Buono

 

A grudging acceptance of the U.S. climate change bill among energy industry executives and some environmentalists only reinforces the notion that a compromise ensures nobody's really happy.

Ahead of a House of Representatives vote on the bill Friday, the measure was a hot topic for executives of U.S. utilities and power producers as they gathered at their annual industry meeting this week.

Conference organizer Edison Electric Institute stressed support for the legislation and reminded members that their industry had been among the first to argue for such a measure.

But the EEI wants to see changes as the bill moves through the Senate, including some sort of upper limit on the price of carbon once the credits start trading.

"We do think that there still needs to be improvements on it from the cost-containment mechanisms for our customers," EEI President Tom Kuhn told reporters as he sat alongside U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who addressed the conference.At the core of the bill is a "cap and trade" plan designed to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 17 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050, using 2005 levels as the baseline.

The EEI sees the 2020 target as too aggressive and would prefer a cut closer to the roughly 15 percent proposed by President Barack Obama.

"It's going to be a very expensive transition," said David Ratcliffe, chief executive of Southern Co and outgoing EEI chairman. "If you try to do it fast, it's going to be more expensive."

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Source: Reuters

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