Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — Two influential senators, John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., teamed up Friday to develop legislation that would cap greenhouse gas emissions and create a trading system to reward companies that do more than their share to combat climate change.
Their announcement builds on growing momentum in the Senate to address global warming with legislation now that President Bush has ended U.S. participation in the Kyoto accord, an international effort to attack global warming.
"Given the fact that the United States produces approximately 25 percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions, the United States has a responsibility to cut its emissions of greenhouse gases," McCain said.
The Senate already is considering several measures designed to address climate change. Earlier this week, a Senate committee voted unanimously to direct the president to produce a plan by October for engaging the nation in a campaign to cut emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide.
The developments reflect growing discomfort with Bush’s decision to have the United States sit on the sidelines last month while 178 nations agreed to rules to implement the Kyoto agreement.
"This indicates that there is a sea change in thinking with respect to global warming, which has been catalyzed by the administration’s withdrawal from Kyoto," said Stuart Eizenstat, who was the chief U.S. negotiator to the 1998 conference in Kyoto, Japan, where the international accord was approved.
The McCain-Lieberman alliance is significant because of the political prominence of the two senators, who represent different parties and who stumped against Bush on the presidential campaign trail last year.
McCain’s engagement in particular suggests a rocky ride for Bush on global warming. Known as a GOP maverick, McCain has aggressively championed such causes as managed health care and campaign finance reform, putting him at odds with many of his Republican colleagues.
The developments on Capitol Hill appear to increase pressure on Bush to develop a comprehensive domestic strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to rejoin the international effort to combat the problem.
"Given the momentum on this issue, I think ultimately the White House might decide to begin constructive movement," said Fred Krup, executive director of Environmental Defense and a member of Bush’s transition advisory team.
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