Dear Editor:
Regarding the many letters recently on climate change, the bigger issue is the economy. I don't disagree much on the environmental impact over the longer time frame. However, I am extremely concerned about our economy during the shorter term regarding the disruption caused by Clean Power Plan mandates. These mandates can have major unintended consequences with global competitiveness and higher utility costs to consumers and producers contributing to increasing poverty and a shrinking middle class.
Should the United States follow the Paris Accord with a "shall" approach, as it is currently with the Clean Power Plan, when the rest of the world can follow it on a "should" basis as the final Paris resolution provides? If the Paris Agreement is not legally binding, why should U.S. industry have mandates imposed when other countries don't voluntarily have them.
To make matters worse, the agreement our president made in November 2014, with Xi Jinping of China as stated by the White House press office was "a new target to cut net greenhouse gas emissions 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. At the same time, President Xi Jinping of China announced targets to peak CO2 emissions around 2030, with the intention to try to peak early." This means that China can increase carbon emissions until 2030, and if things or the economy goes well they will try to reduce emissions earlier.
In the meantime, cheap steel from China is flooding the United States resulting in over 13,500 laid off U.S. steelworkers over the past year with lost productive capacity and long term consequences for our communities and national security. Some reports state emissions from Chinese plants are nearly six times those in the U.S. In addition, due to poor economic timing, thousands of jobs are being lost in oil production, coal mining, aluminum production, etc. killing upper 5- to 6-digit range jobs displacing both union and non-union middle class workers.
I'm convinced we can do both, reduce carbon emissions and grow the economy without the Clean Power Plan as the U.S. has done for over 20 years through technology and market forces. We cannot control the rest of the world in their self-interest for jobs and their economies. The long term goal of renewable energy and carbon emission reduction is great, but we need a fair and unified global approach to do so.
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