U.S. EMISSIONS REGULATIONS COMING

Despite the Bush administration’s insistence that emissions reductions can be obtained from voluntary programs, everybody knows regulation is coming to the US. Here a highly placed official in the energy bureaucracy admits it. He also reports that the Bush administration’s position is evolving.

Energy Official Says US Will Regulate Carbon Emissions, but Unclear How, When
Arthur Max, October 4, 2007 (AP via Yahoo Finance)

WHO
Dan Arvizu, director, National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL); Patrick Mazza, biofuel conference chairman/research director, Climate Solutions;

Congress is presently evaluating a variety of proposals to reduce emissions. (click to enlarge)

WHAT
Arvizu predicted emissions regulation is coming to the US though he could not say what form it would take. He described the Bush administration position as evolving.

WHEN
That Arvizu’s comments came after he had attended the White House international conference on warming and energy with representatives of developing countries (ex: Brazil, India, China) that do not regulate emissions and European nations with mandatory emissions controls was taken by Mazza and others as a sign his awareness of the situation is acute and astute.

WHERE
Arvizu’s comments were made at an advanced biofuels conference in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

WHY
- Arvizu was not speaking for the Bush administration but stating his own opinion.
- He pointed out that utility and oil company leaders, 2 groups previously against regulation, increasingly are demanding emission policies they can know and plan for.
- President Bush’s speech to the White House conference stressed the need for nations to be able to act independently and voluntarily.
- Arvizu says the President’s call for a mandatory renewable vehicle fuel standard was indicative: The US will spend $2 billion over 4-5 years on new biofuels and move away from corn ethanol.
- 30% of US emissions come from transportation, 20% worldwide.

CEOs in the sectors that are the biggest emitters are sounding the call to get the regulation in place so they can make their business plans. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Arvizu, NREL: "There will be carbon regulation of some sort…I am neutral as to which kind of carbon management regulation there will be. It is very clear to me that there will be carbon management, whether it will be a direct tax, carbon cap-and-trade or some other instrument…[The US] is headed in a different direction than we were a few years ago."
- Mazza: "He's picking up the vibe [in Washington]… "