Mike Bloomberg on Energy & Oil Independent possibility for President

US must set real and binding carbon reduction targets

However, between now and the Copenhagen Conference next year, we must establish, I think, the preconditions for such progress. Both developed and developing nations must recognize the need to alter their policies and make serious commitments to change. And I believe that our experience in New York City, and the experience of many of the world’s other great cities, too, can help guide that process.

The first precondition for making the Copenhagen negotiations a success, I believe, is that the US, which leads the world in greenhouse gas production, must finally set real and binding carbon reduction targets. And I believe the American people are prepared to accept our responsibility to lead by example.

Reducing carbon output increases socio-economic well-being

1. We’re converting our city’s taxi fleet to hybrid cars, reducing carbon by 1/2%. It will also clean our air of pollutants.
2. We’ve proposed a program of congestion pricing, designed to discourage driving in our busy business district during the peak weekday hours. It will also make our economy more productive, and finance the new transit lines we desperately need.
3. We’re working to green our buildings--again, not just to cut carbon emissions, but also because it will allow us to redirect billions to better purposes.
4. We’re planting one million trees throughout our city during the next ten years. They will not only capture carbon dioxide, but also clean the air, cool our streets, reduce street flooding, and raise property values.

Cities are taking the lead on climate change

It’s why, even though our national government has yet to approve the Kyoto Protocol, more than 700 cities in the US, representing more than 80 million Americans, have pledged to meet its goals. And it’s why, later this year, NYC will convene a 2-day conference of representatives from more than 20 major world cities. It will feature experts in such fields as transportation, city planning, public health; and it will address the challenges that the world’s cities share in reducing urban air pollution and curbing climate change.

While greenhouse gas pollution is free, it will be abundant

PlaNYC: convert 13,000 taxis to hybrids or high-efficiency

On climate change, the duck-and-cover usually involves pointing the finger at others. It’s China-this & India-that. But wait a second. This is the United States of America. When there’s a major challenge, we don’t wait for others to act. We lead. And we lead by example. That’s what all of us here are doing.

When we developed our long-term sustainability plan in NYC, which we call PlaNYC, we made no apologies for stealing the very best ideas--and we came up with some of our own, including converting our 13,000 taxis to hybrids or high-efficiency vehicles. This will not only help clean our air and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it will save each driver about $4,500 a year in gas costs

Direct charge over cap-and-trade, to raise cost of carbon

Cap-and-trade is an easier political sell because the costs are hidden--but they’re still there. There are also logistical issues: The market for trading carbon credits will be much more difficult to police than the market for the sulfur dioxide credits that greatly reduced acid rain.

A direct charge would eliminate the uncertainty that companies would face in a cap-and-trade system. It would be easier to implement and enforce, it would prevent special interests from opening up loopholes, & it would create an opportunity to cut taxes.

Reduce NYC carbon emissions by 30% by 2030

In New York, we’ve laid out our own detailed plans for reducing carbon emissions by 30% by 2030, investing in more clean energy sources and creating a truly sustainable 21st century city. And we’re going to hold ourselves accountable for meeting interim goals.

Anybody can set goals for 2050 or 2070--but we’ll never reach them unless we start taking real action now. That’s what California and New York are doing, along with many other cities and states. But the federal legislators, as usual, are way behind the curve--laughably setting goals for some far off time when they’ll all be dead and can’t be held accountable!