Statement from WRI’s Jonathan Lash on U.S. House’s Climate and Energy Bill

Jonathan Lash, president of the World Resources Institute, applauds House Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Energy and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-Mass.) for their global warming and energy draft bill released today.

Lash said, “Today’s draft launches an urgent conversation about a critical issue. It is a starting point. It shows how we can reinvigorate our economy, develop clean-energy technologies, and protect against the worst effects of climate change. The measures in this bill represent a growing and urgent consensus among businesses, consumer groups, and individual citizens about the need for immediate action.

“Our nation can only meet its long-term economic and environmental goals with near-term and sustained investments in economic growth, job creation, and greenhouse gas reductions. This draft, which sets firm limits on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions and makes investments in clean energy and jobs, sends an important signal both domestically and abroad. This signal is critical as international climate negotiations approach in December.”

Click here to see the United States Climate Action Partnership press release on the Waxman-Markey draft bill.