September 17, 2008
Energy topics are lighting up the campaign trail. The discussions, no doubt, will enlighten Americans and influence their votes in November. Some clear distinctions exist between the presidential candidates and the winner will invariably create long-lasting changes in Washington and abroad.
Both the Republican and Democratic nominees have independent streaks. But the reality is that John McCain and Barack Obama must unify their respective party's base. As such, they are each likely to stand by long-held positions on important issues such as increasing drilling rights for natural gas producers. Both candidates, however, have staked claims to environmental prudence and are therefore pushing for the use of more renewable energy as well as limits on greenhouse gas emissions that are tied to global warming.
"There has been a major shift in the global business community -- from denial to acceptance and now to active engagement in public policy on the climate issue," says Eileen Claussen, president of the non-partisan Pew Center on Global Climate Change. "And it is a shift that I believe bodes well for national and international action to protect the climate in the months and years ahead."
Indeed, the think tank says that both candidates would be forceful leaders when it comes to protecting the environment and specifically the desire to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Along those lines, each has explicitly called attention to the country's reliance on fossil fuels that are responsible for the preponderance of such gases.
Sen. McCain, the Republican nominee from Arizona, has written legislation that would require the United States to reduce such emissions by 70 percent by 2050 -- a move that concerns some manufacturers, who say that this is knee-jerk reaction to a 'problem' that may not exist but which will cost billions to remedy. His bill would curb emissions by placing mandatory caps on heat-trapping emissions, although it would still allow those industrials that exceed the limits to buy credits from those who meet them.
It's a position that veers from that of the Bush administration, which has long said that mandatory rules are unwise until the technologies become prevalent enough to guarantee that reductions will occur. Until then, President Bush has said that voluntary efforts are best. McCain is differentiating himself from that thinking and has aired television ads showing environmental destruction followed by a proclamation that the candidate has been sounding the alarm on global warming for five years.
"The next president must be willing to break with the energy policies not just of the current administration, but the administrations that preceded it, and lead a great national campaign to achieve energy security for America," McCain said in a speech. Like his opponent, McCain supports increased funding for renewable energy and conservation, although the two differ over whether to allow extensive oil and gas drilling rights.
Ingrained Thinking
Sen. Obama, the Democratic nominee from Illinois, recently altered his position on off-shore drilling. He now says that he might support more access to those areas it were part of a broader energy bill.
Both the candidates understand the role of coal in today's economy. It now supplies more than half of the nation's generation mix. For his part, McCain seems to place more faith in emerging technologies that would capture and store carbon releases as well as those that would purify coal before its emissions would leave the smokestack. Obama, on the other hand, says that such modern tools have yet to arrive and therefore the country should not build any new coal plants based upon what will soon be old technologies.
"We are going to cap the greenhouse gases that cause global warming," Obama told one audience. "We are going to take some of the money that's generated from fining polluters, and we are going to spend billions of dollars on solar, wind and biodiesel." The Democratic candidate would, furthermore, limit the tax breaks given to oil companies and to use the newfound funds to promote renewable energy and conservation.
Republicans are quick to pounce, noting that any tax hike would deter oil and gas development, diminish supply and thereby increase prices to consumers. They generally favor increased production and will work with agreeable states to allow drilling in areas that are at least 100 miles offshore. McCain, once opposed to such an expansion, now says that it is imperative given energy shortages and record high prices.
"Opening up new areas for exploration and development is not a quick fix, but needs to be part of a long-term strategy," says Skip Horvath, chair of the Natural Gas Supply Association. It will take up to 10 years to bring the product to market -- "just when we will need the natural gas most."
While the candidates now have some commonalities on this issue, the parties do not. Practically speaking, Republicans say more production could add two decades of new oil and gas as well as send a message to hostile foreign nations that this country won't be held hostage. Democrats counter that the country must change the current energy paradigm -- relying less on fossil fuels and more on energy conservation and green fuels.
"Instead of giving oil executives another way to boost their record profits, I believe we should put in place a windfall profits tax that will help to ease the burden of higher energy costs on working families, and we should invest in the affordable, renewable sources of energy that Senator McCain has opposed in the past," Obama says.
Energy issues are now top-of-mind. The goal is to expand the nation's portfolio of fuels and to do so in the most environmentally efficient manner. The candidates are defining their positions. America's energy policy will assuredly evolve and take the country in a direction that will be firmly embedded for years to come.
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Ken Silverstein EnergyBiz Insider Editor-in-Chief
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