by Dan Lashof
Larry Summers,
the Director of the National Economic Council, used his luncheon speech at
today’s Energy Information Administration Annual Energy Outlook Conference to lay out a compelling case for comprehensive energy and climate legislation.
The text of his remarks should be posted on the conference website soon and
will be worth a read as he positioned his points about energy and climate in
the context of an expansive overview of the economic crisis and the Obama
administration’s strategy to get the U.S. economy back on track.
In the meantime, here is an outline of the five key points
he made about the economic importance of enacting comprehensive climate and
energy legislation:
Enacting legislation will create demand and jobs
in the short term, when the economy has idle labor and other economic resources
that can be put to work building the foundation of a clean energy economy.
Enacting legislation will reduce uncertainty and
increase confidence, spurring greater private sector investment.
Enacting legislation will result in a more
efficient policy framework by cutting subsidies for dirty fossil fuels and
increasing reliance on a market-based system to reduce emissions.
Enacting legislation will spur innovation, which
is the key to our long-term prosperity.
Enacting legislation will strengthen America’s
international competitive position by reducing our dependence on oil from
unstable parts of the world and making the United States a leader in the
technologies that will drive growth in the 21st Century.
Press
coverage that I have seen predictably focuses on Summers’ response to a
question about the political priority President Obama places on passing energy
and climate legislation this year. His response, “Going forward for the rest of
this year a bipartisan energy solution is an absolutely crucial priority for
the president,” was certainly a tasty dessert, but the highly substantive
main course should not be neglected.
Related Links:
Coalition of 22 Democratic senators urges floor vote on climate bill this year
The inevitable ‘What Does Health Care Reform Mean for Climate Legislation’ post
Is it a problem that more industry groups are meeting with key regulatory officials than enviros?