Energy industry and business trade groups have launched a concerted campaign against the Lieberman-Warner climate bill. The bill, which would establish a cap-and-trade system to reduce U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions, is much less stringent than some other climate bills in Congress, but Lieberman-Warner is so far the only one to pass out of committee; it’s scheduled for a Senate vote in June. Industry and business groups are sponsoring a 17-state anti-climate-bill tour to head off the legislation. The centerpiece of the roadshow is an industry-funded study stressing huge job losses and energy price hikes due to the bill. Also this week, some 70 conservative and religious leaders wrote a letter to senators urging them not to support the Lieberman-Warner bill, describing it as “a vain attempt to change global average temperatures.” The letter also characterized the bill as economically catastrophic and questioned the reality of climate change, declaring that even if climate change is real, the warming so far is negligible and “may be beneficial” to humans.
