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New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson Calls for Bold Action from Feds on Energy and Carbon
Submitted by James Brasuell on December 10, 2007 - 8:00pm.
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, also a Democratic candidate for President, delivered his keynote address to the GreenXchange Globa Marketplace Conference this morning. Highlights of the speech included a scathing critique of the Federal Energy Bill, which he described as "pathetic,"calling the CAFE standards and the RPS requirements included in the current version of the bill weak at best and pointing to Europe and Japan as examples of much regions that have required much more stringent standards.
Continuing VerdeXchange News' live blog of the GreenXchange Global Marketplace Conference:
During the speech Governor Richardson, also the former Cabinet Secretary for Energy, announced an alternative federal plan for energy that would improve on the current efforts of Congress on everything from renewables, to mileage standards, to energy efficency.
The Governor also discussed his preference of a cap and trade policy to reduce carbon emissions, rather than a carbon tax--the preferred method of former Vice President Al Gore. Governor Richardson argued that a cap and trade system is a true mandate and that a carbon tax would take money out of the economy and away from the middle class.