We’re not giving up on climate change legislation

We were in for a surprise this morning when we read the DeSmogBlog’s post, “Who’s Killing U.S. Clean Energy Policy?” on Daily Kos. It accuses ACCCE of intervening with the passage of climate change legislation – but isn’t it a bit early to start throwing in the towel? The Senate has only begun to consider proposals, and speakers this week at a climate change conference in Washington said that Senate committees could act on the legislation before the end of the year.

“If Obama’s clean energy bill fails, it will not be because progressive groups have not done a good job at defending the bill,” DeSmogBlog writes. “It will be the multi-billion dollar fossil fuel industry and their ideological front groups that will be to blame.” Ouch. For the past few months, we have been working constructively with congressional members to promote changes to the climate legislation that will help strengthen its impact, not weaken it.

That includes stronger measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, preserve access to affordable and reliable energy, protect and create clean jobs and promote greater energy independence through the use of coal and other domestic energy resources. And remember – our organization supports renewable energy, federal carbon management legislation and recognizes that cap and trade could be part of the climate change solution.

Should legislation the bill fail to pass, it will most likely be because of a lack of willingness to compromise.

The close vote in the House showed that there were still serious concerns about the economic effects of the climate legislation in many parts of the country. Now that a bill has reached the Senate – where states will have equal representation – greater compromise will be more important than ever.