Published: March 19, 2009 03:14 pm      

Reducing emissions without wrecking our wallets

I believe there are two indisputable goals in the energy debate.

One is that we want to reduce emissions/greenhouse gases, although there certainly is no consensus on a perfect approach. Two is that, whatever we do, costs must be a consideration or we will create some additional, undesirable economic havoc.

In other words, the “damn the price, full speed ahead” approach promoted by some environmental groups is not a realistic option.

Our recent study on how energy costs impact the American family showed the biggest increase on record last year. Half of families bring home $50,000 or less, and energy costs consumed 20 percent of their after-tax income in 2008.

For those with after-tax incomes of $30,000 or less, energy costs gobbled up one in four of those dollars.

Clearly, families that saw their total energy burden increase by 75 percent between 2001 and 2008 can’t take much more.

A snapshot of energy cost burdens on the private sector is more difficult to put into focus, given the variety of business models and energy demands.

But few would argue that energy costs are irrelevant for employers, whether they be large, medium or small.

The cost of electricity increased at less than the inflation rate during the past 20 years, making it a relative bargain on the energy shelf.

A main reason is that competitively priced coal has been used for half our nation’s power and 56 percent of the electricity here in Pennsylvania.

So, as we work to reduce carbon emissions, shifting the primary burden for reductions to coal-generated power clearly will drive up the costs and put a further dent into the wallets of families and business owners, especially in states such as Pennsylvania, which are more coal-power dependent.

The answer to this dilemma is a balanced approach encouraging a wide variety of energy sources, such as renewables, while also promoting advanced technologies that will help our domestic coal resources generate electric power as cleanly and efficiently as possible – clean coal technologies.

Encouraging the many promising efforts to advance clean coal technology, including more than 80 U.S. projects researching carbon capture and sequestration, will help us break through with the technology critical to using our vast domestic coal resources to produce cleaner power.

Also, as the debate on federal cap and trade legislation proceeds, individuals and businesses should be alert to a significant difference in approaches. Specifically, auctioning, rather than allocating, emissions credits in a cap and trade program would levy a de facto tax without generating additional emissions benefits.

While there can be no free lunch, smartly designed energy policies will ensure we don’t take all of the lunch money from our families and private enterprises.



Joe Lucas is vice president of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan partnership of companies involved in producing electricity from coal. It supports energy policies that balance coal’s role in meeting our country’s growing need for affordable and reliable electricity with the need to protect the environment. Information, visit www.cleancoal-usa.org or www.americaspower.org