Bush Plan Addresses Greenhouse Gases

In a Nov. 9 commentary, Jeremy Rifkin called President Bush’s plan to transform our energy future from one dependent on foreign oil to one that uses clean and abundant hydrogen a “Trojan horse” that would do nothing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Rifkin is wrong.

The Bush administration is investing in clean coal technologies, such as carbon sequestration, that would transcend the environmental debate over coal by transforming this cheap and abundant fuel into a clean energy source. Our Freedom Car and hydrogen fuel initiative could eliminate automobile pollution while reducing our dependence on foreign oil. And we are making considerable investments to expand renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and biomass; reduce more pollutants from the use of conventional fuels; increase the efficiency of vehicles; and make our nation’s buildings, equipment and infrastructure more energy-efficient.

The real Trojan horses are a proposal that expects nations to cripple their economies by forgoing the use of inexpensive and abundant domestic fossil fuels and proposals that mandate arbitrary carbon reduction targets with no practical means to achieve them. Either dramatic greenhouse gas reductions will come at the expense of economic growth and improved living standards, or breakthrough technologies that change the game entirely will allow us to reduce emissions while we maintain economic progress and improve the world’s quality of life. We believe the second course is the only acceptable option.

Spencer Abraham

U.S. Secretary of Energy

Washington